The Boy Bride
by MitsukiR
Summary: Bound by their customs, Naruto, an orphaned boy bride, and Sasuke, the young Uchiha prince are tied in an arranged marriage. But tradition or not, Itachi knows what's best for his younger brother. Sasunaru. Kakairu. Itadei.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Small note, please read before you review! : I have never really written anything, so this is my first story ever. You may find that a lot of things in this story sound familiar. Some of the ideas are not originally mine, I'm not very creative that way hehe. This story has been inspired (that makes it sound better wink wink) by a lot of yaoi mangas and fanfics, which I definitely don't mean to insult by copying. I just love their ideas and thought I would put together something that included all of these ideas. I apologize in advance if I offend any writer/mangaka with this story. And the rest of you, I hope you enjoy.

Striking blue eyes scanned the empty room that had just been vacated. The morning sun shone through the tall windows, lighting up the huge space with a yellow glow. The four poster bed in the centre of the room looked naked without its sheets and its usual heavy red curtains. The eyes landed on the empty dressing mirror next to the bed which had been crowded with a rich variety of perfumes and lotions just a moment ago. The room had been stripped of everything it had contained for the past 10 years, looking like it had never been occupied at all.

'Ah, Naruto. There you are.' A slight young man, with chocolate brown hair and soft eyes stood at the door scratching a long scar across his nose.

'Iruka sensei,' Naruto grinned at the man, ' Is it time already?'

'Not yet, but the Hokage wants you to join him for breakfast.'

'Okay, I'll be there in a minute.' Naruto smiled and looked around the room one more time. 'Just want to make sure I didn't leave anything.'

Iruka smiled sadly and nodded. He knew exactly what the boy was going through, after all, they were in the same boat. This day was inevitable, he knew they had to leave one day, but this place had been their home and he couldn't help but feel this way. Naruto was only nine when Iruka had brought him here, yet it seemed like only yesterday the blonde blue eyed boy had stepped into this room with only a small backpack in the name of luggage. The day he stepped into this room, his fate had been decided.

Naruto was a boy bride. It was a custom of royals and nobles of the allied countries of their part of the world to marry their youngest son to a man to prevent any rivalry within the family, and Konoha had been born of such tradition. This little city had been was one among a few others who had taken the responsibility to bring up boy brides. A boy bride was brought up to be the perfect partner to their sons and to be worthy members of such families.

It was cruel, Iruka thought, to decide the fate of young boys, who otherwise may have had other dreams to pursue if given a choice. On the other hand, he knew that for Naruto, this was what had saved his life. He hated to think what Naruto would have had to go through if Iruka had not found him unconscious at the Palace gates and taken him in. Would he still be alive?

Iruka walked up to Naruto and place a hand on his shoulder. 'Naruto, we have to leave.'

Naruto scanned the room one last time and nodded slowly. 'Let's go, sensei.'

He followed Iruka out of the room without looking back. It was time for a new start.

They reached the Hokage's wing where an old man sat with a young boy bride with red hair and green eyes. They were both engaged in a conversation when the old man spotted Naruto and Iruka entering the dining room.

'Naruto, Iruka.' The Hokage smiled, ' We've been waiting. Come come, have a seat.'

'Thank you Hokage-sama.' Iruka said sitting himself down when two guards pulled their seats for them.

'Gaara.' Naruto grinned at the young red haired boy. 'You came to say goodbye?'

'Yes.' Gaara nodded, with a small smirk. 'to you and the Hokage.'

'Huh?' Naruto tilted his head, confused. ' What do you mean? Hokage's going somewhere?'

The Hokage chuckled ' It seems, Naruto, the two of you never leave each other's side wherever you go.'

Iruka and Naruto looked at the Hokage with confused expressions, while Gaara looked down at his plate with a slight blush dusting his cheeks.

'The Hyuuga's royal branch family has asked for Gaara for their son, and they seemed to be in a bit of a hurry.'

'Gaara! Congratulations!' Naruto got out of his seat and glomped Gaara, who didn't seem too pleased with the action.

' Naruto, get off me before I bite your arms off.' Gaara growled.

'oh, come on, you don't mean that.' Naruto laughed and tightened his hold.

'Sit down, Naruto. Really, all these years of grooming under Iruka and you still behave like a brat.' The hokage sweat dropped.

Iruka giggled and pulled naruto back to his seat, keeping his hold on Naruto's robe who looked ready to jump on a cautious looking Gaara again.

'But Hokage-sama,' Iruka coughed soflty, ' pardon my curiosity, but the Hyuuga branch family has only one son?'

'That's true, Iruka.' The Hokage nodded. ' It seems the branch family has to prove their loyalty yet again.'

'I don't understand,' Iruka shook his head, 'That boy has done so much for the family, he's their finest shinobi.'

'Maybe that's why.' The Hokage said softly, 'He's their finest, and he's their strongest. He will soon surpass the head.'

Iruka nodded and looked over at Gaara. Gaara seemed to understand the situation very well. He had been informed about the situation when the proposal had arrived, so he knew what he was getting married into. He was just a proof of loyalty for the young Hyuuga, a necessary step, a compromise. He had never been one of those boy brides in the palace who dreamt of a happily ever after anyway. Life wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. You needed to sacrifice something to get something. The Hyuuga would win the main family's trust and he would get a home. A happily ever after was a small sacrifice.

'So is our Gaara.' Iruka said loudly, smiling widely at the young boy. ' He is one of our finest. I'd say it's a blessing in disguise for the young Hyuuga.'

'Of course,' The Hokage agreed, patting Gaara's head, who allowed the contact. ' You will be the best thing that's happened to him. That boy has been through a lot Gaara, and I know you will be bring him happiness.'

Gaara looked a little surprise at the quick change in their mood, but gave a small smile and nodded.

'So will you, Naruto.' The Hokage turned to Naruto. ' You will bring the young Uchiha prince great happiness.'

Naruto blushed at the sudden mention of the prince's name. He just smiled back. He wasn't so sure about that. He didn't even know this prince guy, what he looked like or whether he was happy about this marriage. The prince had no choice of course, and that was what made Naruto nervous.

'Sasuke is a lovely boy,' a voice announced. They all turned towards the door to find a young lady at the door. She had red eyes and black hair and she bowed low before the Hokage.

'Ah, Kurenai.' The Hokage said, motioning her to sit down with them. ' You're here already. Join us for breakfast before you leave. Naruto, this is Kurenai-sensei, she's an Uchiha shinobi and she's here to fetch you.'

'Nice to meet you, Kurenai-sensei, I'll be in your care.' Naruto said softly like he was taught and bowed in greeting.

'Such a cute boy, and such nice manners.' Kurenai giggled bowing back. 'Sasuke sure is lucky.'

Naruto blushed to right down to his neck and looked down, which made Kurenai giggle more.

'And nice to see you again Iruka-sensei,' she said, smiling at Iruka. Iruka looked a little surprised to be addressed directly, but quickly snapped out of it.

'Nice to see you too, Kurenai sensei.' Iruka smiled back, looking slightly uncomfortable. There was a small silence between the two which the Hokage interrupted with a loud cough.

'Right, let's dig in.'

The breakfast continued with a light conversation, and before they knew it they were standing the gates on the place getting ready to leave.

Three huge midnight blue carriages, strapped to magnificent black horses stood in front of the huge palace doors. Ten strong Uchiha gaurds and five maids stood in a line and bowed in greeting to Naruto and Iruka. The Uchiha sure knew how to greet a new bride.

Naruto noticed Iruka looking over at the gaurds and looking slightly relieved.

'What is it, Iruka?' Naruto asked, thinking he might be hesitating to leave.

'Its nothing Naruto. Just relieved we have good security.' Iruka smiled.

'Of course.' Kurenai chuckled 'We are here to fetch a the bride of the young prince after all.'

'You have nothing to fear Iruka.' The Hokage smiled knowingly 'Kurenai here alone is enough. She's an Uchiha shinobi.'

After their luggages were set, Naruto and Iruka said their goodbyes to palace staff who had been standing outside to bid them farewell. The other boy brides were not allowed to come out to say goodbye to a bride. As per tradition, Naruto had said his goodbyes the night before at dinner. Naruto had given Gaara a tight at the breakfast table hug telling him they see each other soon. The land of wind and the Hyuuga country shared a border and were only a day of carriage ride away. Naruto felt relieved to know his best friend would be near him if he ever wanted to see him.

Naruto was then guided into the carriage by Kurenai. Iruka was heading to the carriage when the Hokage called him.

'Iruka, a word before you leave.'

'Yes, Hokage-sama.' He walked over to the Hokage, who lowered his voice so he wouldn't be heard by others.

'Iruka, I hope you will pamper yourself a little, now that Naruto is getting settled.' The Hokage smiled softly. ' You are still too young to give up on happiness. Please allow yourself to be more selfish.'

'Hokage-sama.' Iruka stared at the old man with surprise.

'I have little doubt that you will find someone in the land of wind. Perhaps someone you know very well.'

Iruka gave the Hokage a confused look, but the old man just chuckled and motioned him to go.

They got into their carriages and set off for their three day journey to the land of wind.

Naruto looked out of the carriage window and watched the little city where he spent his entire life, go further and further away, until it was completely out of sight.

He somehow didn't feel ready for this.

Uchiha Sasuke slid his sword back into its sheath with practiced elegance. He had been given a break from his duties since yesterday and had nothing to do. He spent his entire day training, or in the library. He hated having nothing to do.

He picked his robe that he had left on the floor and headed inside. He had enough training for now, he needed a bath before he joined his brother for lunch.

He headed straight to the royal bath, ordering a maid to bring a change of clothes for him to the bath. He stepped into the huge steamy room, and stripped his clothes off. He felt his muscles relax as the lowered himself into the water near one of the large fountains spouting hot water into the bath. He took a dip and surfaced again pushing his black wet hair back.

Uchiha Sasuke, like most Uchiha men, was a gorgeous man. With dark hair, porcelain pale skin, pitch black eyes and a well built body, he looked like he had been sculpted to perfection. Good looking, strong and rich. Sasuke had women drooling all over him, but he never really had any interest in that area. Born a second son, he had too much on his plate to pay attention to such trivial things. He had to live up to everyone's expectations for him to be a strong pillar for his elder brother, making sure he didn't slack in his duties in supporting his brother to run the country smoothly, training to stand shoulder to shoulder among their finest shinobis and being worthy of his rank as the commander of five shinobi quads and an anbu squad. It didn't help that his elder brother was a genius and the strongest shinobi in the country, who had the standards too high. Though his brother never pressured him with high expectations, Sasuke felt it was his duty to give his best.

'Otouto.' Speak of the devil. 'You're finally taking some time to relax.'

'Hn.' Black eyes landed on a young man in his twenties, next to the fountain on the opposite end. The man was a replica of Sasuke, but a bit more mature, with a slightly bigger built and longer hair. He had the same eyes, but somehow seemed more dense, more mysterious and dangerous.

'You should've at least left your sword outside.' The man said with a slight smirk, gancing at the sword on the floor next to Sasuke.

'Hn.'

Uchiha Itachi looked at his younger brother, smirking wider. Sasuke was too serious sometimes. He needed to learn to let go a little.

'Kakashi is heading back tomorrow. So I'm extending your break slightly longer.' Itachi said, tilting his head back and sliding further into the water.

'Hn.'

Itachi sighed. His brother was not in a good mood today. Must have been the new maid who entered his room this morning. Sasuke did not like too many people entering his quarters. When Sasuke started hitting his teens, they were having problems with the maids finding the smallest of excuses to enter Sasuke's quarters to get a glimpse of him. As a result, they were getting in the way of his training and studies. Since then Sasuke had forbidden people to enter his quarters. He had a handful of maids, who had taken care of him since he was young, to look to his needs and keep his quarters clean, and had personally chosen guards to keep the area secure. The new maid had however managed to slip in somehow while cleaning the palace, and Sasuke had not been too pleased about it.

Itachi always had a tough time trying to get Sasuke to open up a little to new people and was now worried how things will go between him and his new bride. Itachi had chosen the young boy bride for his younger brother himself. The moment he had heard about him from The Hokage of Konoha, he had felt that he was perfect for Sasuke. He sounded like a lovely boy and was raised by Iruka, who Itachi had had the pleasure of meeting a few times before. He had a feeling he would bring Sasuke happiness and would perhaps be a positive influence on him. Maybe have Sasuke smile a little more often.

No, that's taking it a bit too far.

He sensed Sasuke move out of the water, and grab a towel.

'Sasuke.' Sasuke continued to wipe his body. 'Rest well tonight. I want you to look your best for tomorrow.'

Sasuke paused in his movements and Itachi smirked again. Bingo.

'They're arriving early tomorrow morning, I hope you didn't forget.'

Sasuke wrapped the towel around his waist and turned around to face Itachi, who stood up to get out of the water as well.

'Yes, Nii-san.' Sasuke said handing him a fresh towel.

Itachi took the towel and started wiping himself. He didn't say anything because Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something.

'Nii-san.' Yup, he knew his brother well. ' Maybe he should have his own room for now. It's a new place for him …'

Itachi smiled. Not a lot of people knew this, but Sasuke was a kind boy. He quickly grew concerned for others.

Itachi patted Sasuke on his back and headed towards the changing room. 'Don't worry Sasuke. Naruto will handle things perfectly.'

Sasuke followed his brother and didn't say another word.

Naruto.

His boy bride.

Sasuke never had any experience with love. He had very few friends to begin with. He always knew he would one day marry a boy bride and didn't have a say in this. It never bothered him much, mainly because he never gave it much thought, but now that he was of age and his bride was chosen, the situation had been dawning on him slowly. These two days that he had been on a break since the escorts left to fetch his bride, he had started to become slightly distracted.

Don't get him wrong. Uchiha Sasuke knew his priorities. But this was completely new to him. He never had any training or advice in how to handle a marriage. Apart from the wedding night advices he got from his Senseis and Senpais who had boy brides. That's not the sort of advice he was looking, if anything they made him more nervous.

Deciding it was too late to worry about these things, he quickly changed and followed his brother to the royal dining area for lunch. All that thinking was making him hungry.

After lunch, Sasuke excused himself and headed to his quarters. He felt the need to keep himself occupied with some tactic scrolls. He passed his guards who bowed to him and let him through. He walked into his study and unrolled the scrolls on the table to continue where he left off last night.

Handling five Shinobi quads was not much of a challenge for Sasuke, who had been appointed commander of his first squad at the age of fifteen. Being given the charge of an anbu squad however kept him on his toes. There were only five anbus in one squad, which was a lot less compared to a shinobi squad which had thirty shinobis, but anbus were highly skilled shinobis who were personally selected by the king or the council. To qualify to be a commander of the anbu squad, one needed to either complete a certain number of anbu missions which would take a regular anbu at least fifteen years, or get recommended by all the anbu commanders for a test to prove his skills.

Sasuke had been recommended by the commanders when Sasuke had barely completed his first year as an anbu, and had passed it on his first attempt. Sasuke still remembered how pleased Itachi had looked on the investiture ceremony. He had been so proud of Sasuke that day, and for Sasuke that had been more rewarding than his new rank.

Sasuke pulled out a pencil to take a note when he heard a knock on the door.

'Come in.' Sasuke said not stopping his work. An elderly maid opened the door and spotted Sasuke on his desk.

'Sasuke-sama.' She smiled softly. ' Some new furniture have arrived for Sasuke-sama's room. We wanted permission to place them in there'

'Furniture?' Sasuke asked, confused.

'Yes.' The maid nodded, smiling wider. ' A gift from Deidera-sama for Sasuke-sama's new bride.'

'And he sent furniture?' Sasuke sounded more confused.

'A Dressing table and a jewellery drawer to be precise.' The maid chuckled.

Of course, his bride would probably need things like that. Was he expected to look to these things? He had no clue. Deidera probably knew Sasuke wasn't aware of these things.

'Thank you, Miko-san.' Sasuke said nodding to the maid. 'Please place them where you see fit.'

'Of course, Sasuke-sama.' Miko-san bowed and shut the door.

Sasuke got back to his work and let Miko-san handle the rest.


	2. Chapter 2

disclaimer:Belongs to Kishimoto

Naruto was woken up by a slight jolt when the carriage came to a stop. They had been travelling for the past three days, stopping by a few villages to take rest and was told by Kurenai that last night would be their final night travelling. Naruto peered out of the window, it was morning already, but he couldn't see anything in the name of civilization.

'Good morning, Naruto.' Iruka woke up next to him. 'They seemed to have stopped. I think we're almost there now, we must've stopped to get you ready.'

'Get me ready?' Naruto asked, starting to feel slightly nervous. 'Here? In the middle nowhere?'

Iruka chuckled. ' Yes. It's customary for the Uchiha bride to enter her new home in the clothes provided by her new family. We shouldn't be too far from the land of wind then.'

They were almost there. Naruto could feel his heart race a little faster. It seemed all that training in the palace to keep his composure would be going down the drain today.

They heard a knock at their carriage door and was greeted by Kurenai opening it.

'Good morning.' She smiled. ' We're about an hour away from our destination. We should get Naruto changed.'

'Of course, Kurenai-san.' Iruka nodded. They stepped out of the carriage to find a small tent getting erected by the guards. The maids were carrying some boxes, which Naruto guessed were the new clothes he was going to be changed into.

He noticed a familiar symbol on the boxes as well as the tent, that looked like a red and blue fan. An Uchiwa. He recognized it as the Uchiha emblem. The past few days Naruto had been learning a few things about the Uchihas from Kurenai-sensei. He had heard many stories while in the palace about the brave Uchiha shinobis and their infamous sharingan, but never knew about the great land more than what the stories boasted about. Kurenai had given him a few tips and had explained a bit about their country. The Uchiha clan seemed to be very strict and particular about their traditions. So far some powerful shinobis Kurenai talked about didn't sound human at all. Was it possible for such amazing people to exist?

The King himself, as Kurenai explained, the strongest man in the land, had inherited the throne at the age of thirteen after his parents had passed away in a shipwreck. Finding this to their advantage, two neighbouring lands had attacked the land of wind knowing that the country was at its weakest with a thirteen year old king to protect it. The young king, however, had handled the situation effortlessly, with only a group of anbu to back him up. Victory had been on their side within minutes into the battle. It seemed like an exaggerated story to Naruto, but Kurenai-san didn't seem like a person to waste her time telling tales.

Naruto had also learned a little about the prince from Kurenai-san. Uchiha Sasuke sounded like a powerful man himself, handling the entire castle security, over hundred other shinobis and anbus all by himself. Naruto had no idea he was getting married to such an incredible person. The more he learnt about the prince, the more doubtful he felt about his worth as the prince's consort.

Perhaps, there was something the prince wasn't good at? Everyone had weaknesses, right? Naruto could probably fill that void?

No, he was just consoling himself.

After the tent was erected, Naruto was taken inside by the maids to get changed while Kurenai, Iruka and the guards remained outside.

The maids opened the boxes and pulled out white heavy robes and some ornaments. They helped Naruto change into them, which took a bit of an effort because the outfit had three layers. The robes were quite long and Naruto wondered if he would be able to handle them. The last thing he wanted was to trip and land on his face in front of his new in laws. The ornaments were a lot simpler compared to the complicated robes. The maids put a white veil over Naruto and fit it with a simple gold headpiece, then put a gold ring with a large jeweled Uchiha emblem on top.

Naruto lifted his hand and blushed looking at the ring on his index finger. He was going to be an Uchiha soon. The thought made him feel slightly giddy, and he couldn't figure out whether it was out of nervousness or excitement.

'it's the Uchiha ring your highness.' One of the maids said, noticing Naruto look at it so intently.

'Oh.' Was all Naruto could say, a little taken aback at being called 'your highness'. Of course, He was going to be a member of the royal family now. It suddenly dawned on him what a big deal that actually was.

'It will be replaced with a different one on your highness's ring finger tonight.' The maid smiled. She seemed quite friendly Naruto decided. Hang on…

'Tonight?' Naruto asked.

'Yes, your highness.' The maid nodded excitedly 'At the wedding ceremony. The whole castle has been decorated for tonight. I heard form the kitchen boy that his majesty ordered the Royal head cook to bake a cake as big as a carriage for the occasion.'

'As big as a carriage?' Naruto's eyes sparkled at the mention of food, nervousness all forgotten.

'Five bakers are working on the cake alone.' She continued with dramatic hand gestures. 'There are cooks coming over from other lands to make their country's specialties too. The entire hall will be packed with food! '

'Tenten, enough.' An elderly maid stopped the younger one before she got overly excited. 'I apologize your highness, Tenten gets a bit excited when it comes to food.'

'Yes, Kiko-san.' Tenten squeaked and rushed to pack the boxes.

Naruto giggled. 'That's okay, I share a similar interest.'

'That's lovely.' The elderly maid giggled. 'I look forward to serving some of my homemade baked goodies. I hope you highness will like them as much as the young prince does.'

Naruto eagerly listened at the mention of the prince's name.

'His highness has always liked them with very less sugar since a child.'

'You've known…um…his highness for so long?' Naruto asked, feeling a little curious.

'Yes, Your Highness.' Kiko smiled gently. ' My sister and I have been in the palace since the prince was a little baby. We've been serving him since then.'

'They're one of the few maids who are allowed in the prince's wing.' Tenten chirped in, at which the elderly maid chuckled.

'You're not allowed there?' Naruto asked, a little disappointed. He was hoping Tenten would be around him more often; she seemed like a nice girl.

'No, she's not.' The elderly maid chuckled again. 'Sasuke-sama is very private person. He does not trust people very easily. There are only a handful of us who look after his quarters.'

'Oh.' Naruto said, a little worried. He would probably be staying in the Prince's quarters? He didn't want to be a nuisance for him.

'Don't worry, your highness.' The kiko smiled at him. 'As the prince's consort, you will have special rights. My sister Miko has been ordered by Deidera-sama to make Sasuke-sama's quarters more comfortable for you. Deidera-sama had been designing some new things to be added in the quarters for the past few weeks.'

Naruto felt a bit touched. They did that for him?

'Who's Deidera-sama, Kiko-san?' Naruto asked Kiko who ordered the maids to pack everything up.

'Deidera-sama is His majesty's closest friend, one of the best shinobis in the land and the kindest person I know' Kiko explained.

'I see.' Naruto nodded. ' Deidera-sama really does sound like a nice person.'

Kiko smiled gently and nodded.

Iruka leaned against the carriage and closed his eyes against the bright sunlight. He has finished changing into fresh clothes and had checked with the guards on how long before they reached the land of wind. He guessed the maids would take their time with Naruto, they're probably dressing him up in layers. The Uchihas always liked to show off, and this was their first bride in a long time in the Royal family, so the Uchihas would definitely make a big deal out of it.

Naruto was going to be showered with attention, Iruka thought and smiled. He was very happy for his little Naruto. He was such a lovely boy and Iruka was proud of how wonderful he had turned out. He had given up his life as a boy bride himself to raise Naruto, and if given a choice he would do it again. His boy deserved every happiness after what he had been through as a child. He hoped the young prince would keep him happy.

'Iruka-san.'

Iruka opened his eyes to find Kurenai standing next to him. 'Kurenai-san. I'm sorry, I was just lost in my thoughts.'

'Are you nervous for Naruto?' Kurenai giggled.

'No.' Iruka smiled ' I know the Uchihas will accept him gracefully. I'm very happy for him.'

Kurenai smiled gently. 'He's grown into a lovely boy, Iruka-san. You've raised him really well. Sasuke is a lucky man to have Naruto as his bride.'

'Thank you.' Iruka grinned ' But he was always wonderful to begin with. I didn't have to teach him that bit. His highness is going to be busy though, Naruto is quite a handful.'

Kurenai giggled again. 'I would like to see how Sasuke handles him then. Oh, he still remembers you, you know.'

'He does?' Iruka asked, a bit surprised that the young prince still remembered him. He had met him once many years back when Sasuke was only twelve, he had been such a well mannered boy. Iruka remembered how impressed he was with the way the young prince had carried himself. He had been a thorough gentleman, even at that age, pulling out chairs for Iruka, leaving the way for him and conducting himself in a way most nobles and royals would towards a lady or a boy bride.

'Of course.' Kurenai nodded.

'I'm a little surprised.' Iruka admitted 'We've only met once when he was barely twelve. But then again, the prince has always been very aware of his surroundings. I remember he had just passed his jounin exams when we met. Quite an accomplishment for a little boy of that age.'

'He works very hard, that boy.' Kurenai smiled. 'And it helps that he was taught by our best. Our laziest, but our best.'

Iruka stayed silent for a moment. And then slowly nodded his head. 'Yes, of course. He's had a great teacher.'

'It's a wonder how Sasuke didn't turn out to be a lazy pervert like him.' Kurenai giggled ' He still tries to get Sasuke to read those twisted books though. Sasuke burned his entire collection once and he moped around the palace for an entire week until Itachi-sama bought him the entire collection again. He looked like a little birthday boy who had…'

Kurenai stopped, noticing that Iruka looked a little uncomfortable with the topic. She suddenly realized she hit a sore spot.

'I'm sorry, Iruka-san.' Kurenai said looking apologetic. 'I didn't mean to bring him up…'

'No, please, its fine. Really.' Iruka shook his head trying to smile at her. 'I'm fine.'

Kurenai smiled gently at him. She hadn't known Iruka very well since she had met him only on a few occasions many years ago. However, from the little that she had discovered, she had learned what a gentle person Iruka was. She stayed silent for a moment, contemplating, and then decided she might as well.

'He…never married, you know.' She said slowly, testing the waters.

She saw Iruka stiffen and look a little surprised, but he quickly recovered and shook his head.

'I didn't know.' Iruka admitted soflty.

'I didn't mean to make you upset Iruka-san.' Kurenai put a hand on Iruka's shoulder. ' I was just wondering, maybe this is an opportunity to fix old wounds?'

Iruka stayed silent for a moment, looking down on the ground.

'No.' He said softly. 'I appreciate your concern Kurenai-san. Thank you. But Naruto is the only important thing in my life now. Things have changed.'

'For you.' Kurenai said soflty. When Iruka didn't respond Kurenai decided to change the topic. She didn't want to spoil this day for Iruka.

'We'll start moving once our escorts arrive from the palace. Please rest in the carriage, it's going to be a busy day.' Kurenai patted Iruka's shoulder and headed towards the guards.

Iruka stepped into the carriage and shut the door. He suddenly felt very tired. He had been dreading such confrontations the moment the Hokage had informed him that the Uchiha king wanted Naruto for his younger brother. What happened nine years ago was because of his selfishness, but had there been a little understanding, a little sacrifice on both sides…

He thought he was over this. Yet after all these years, the mere mention of him made Iruka's heart clench, but this time out of dread. He should've faced this long ago, instead he had been running away for the past 9 years. Maybe he expected it would all be forgotten with time. No. He never expected. He only hoped.

Iruka took a deep breath and straightened himself. What happened in the past, is the past. He will not let this special day get ruined by old scars.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Naruto was guided into the carriage but the maids. Iruka looked at Naruto in awe, all his worries forgotten in an instant when his eyes landed on his precious little boy dressed in his new robes. He looked like an angel. He had his veil up so Iruka could see Naruto's face glowing against his white robes. His little brat had bloomed into a flower. Naruto saw Iruka staring and blushed deeply.

'Iruka, you're acting creepy.' Naruto pouted.

'I'm sorry Naruto.' Iruka giggled. ' You just look gorgeous.'

Naruto blushed deeper and Iruka laughed.

There was another knock on the door and Kurenai opened it to inform that the bride's escorts had arrived. Naruto pulled the thick veil down and they set out to the land of wind.

Please review and let me know how it's going :) It's going really slow for now, but things will start picking up from the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Belongs to Kishimoto

Thank you for the fabs and follows and for that one review lol :)

Uchiha Itachi stood in front of the fireplace and looked at the large portrait above it. It was a portrait of his family. His Father stood proudly next to his mother who was seated with a baby Sasuke in her arms, while a very young Itachi stood on the other side near his baby brother. He looked at the baby Sasuke who was dressed in all white with an Uchiha fan toy in his hand. Sasuke had been only a few months in this painting.

How time had flown by.

'How was your journey?' Itachi asked, sensing someone at his window and turning to face them. 'Kakashi.'

A man in his late twenties was squatted on the windowsill like it was the most natural thing. He had grey hair swept in one direction and a mask over half of his face. He lifted his headband to reveal his other eye, otherwise hidden.

'Yo.' Kakashi replied lazily and lifted his hand in greeting.

'Yes.' Itachi chuckled 'Yo to you too.'

Kakashi stepped into the room and sat down on one of the huge armchairs.

'Have you met Sasuke yet?' Itachi asked, sitting opposite Kakashi.

'No, I just got home.' Kakashi replied ' How's the squirt handling it? I haven't seen him in weeks.'

'I haven't seen him react much to it. Except, he does seem slightly touchy today. He had one of the guards burn his night robes this morning because a maid from the kitchen wing was sniffing it.'

Kakashi chuckled. 'He's just something else.'

'I may be wrong, but I think he's nervous.' Itachi smiled 'He hasn't been very attentive today. He accidentally flipped the entire breakfast table this morning.'

'That is not the Sasuke we know.' Kakashi laughed.

'I'm actually quite happy I'm getting to see this side of him.' Itachi laughed as well. 'He's been too serious.'

'I have a wedding gift for him.' Kakashi grinned, his eyes squinting into upturned 'u'. He pulled out an orange book from his vest pocket and patted it.

'I'm not buying the entire series for you this time Kakashi.' Itachi chuckled. 'You better hide your collection from my little brother.'

'But this is a special edition.' Kakashi explained, pushing the book near itachi's face. 'Signed by the author himself!'

'Jiraiya-san will sign anything.' Itachi said pushing the ugly book away from his face. 'Besides, I don't think Sasuke cares. Special edition or not, He will burn it.'

'What's with the boy and burning stuff.' Kakashi pouted through the mask, putting the book back in his pocket. 'I shouldn't have taught him chidori. He created a monster with it.'

Itachi smirked proudly. Sasuke had taken chidori to whole new level when Kakashi had told him to personalize it. His technique was the strongest in the land today, and he was still adding to it. Itachi felt his chest swell with pride just thinking about it.

There was a quick knock on the door and an attractive young man with long blonde hair opened it. He had half his hair tied into a pony and a portion of it covering one eye. He spotted the two men in the room and rushed to them.

'Itachi!' The blonde man rushed to the two sitting next to the window. 'The escorts have entered the city. They'll be at the palace gates any minute now.'

'Calm down Deidera.' Itachi smiled gently at the young man. ' It will take them a good half an hour to reach the palace.'

'Hi Kakashi.' Deidera chirped 'mission go well?'

'Yo.' Kakashi nodded ' It went fine.'

'You better hide you collection well this time' Deidera said pointing at the orange tip peaking out of his pocket.

'Sasuke has no taste in books.' Kakashi sighed.

'Our Sasuke has great taste.' Deidera giggled. 'You're the one with a corrupted mind.'

'Corrupted?' Kakashi choked 'This book is a work of art.'

'Art?' Suddenly Deidera looked furious and put his hands on his hips. 'How dare you call that piece of junk an art?'

Itachi and Kakashi look at each other and sweatdropped. Kakashi had stepped on a landmine. Never. You never, joke about art in front of Deidera. Wasn't that a law or something in the country? Well, it should be.

'How disrespectful! That ugly, tasteless, plot less piece of garbage, written for cheap thrills doesn't even qualify to be a book itself to begin with!'

Kakashi slowly put the pushed the book deeper into his pocket.

'Art needs imagination. Creativity. TASTE! And above all TALENT!'

'Dei-'

'Art is beauty! It inspires and uplifts in a moment!' Deidera cut Itachi off. Itachi just gave up and shrugged.

'That thing, book, or whatever it is you call it, could never be art!'

'Ma, Deidera-kun.' Kakashi laughed nervously before Deidera exploded something. 'Did I say art? I meant…um…junk. It's a work of JUNK. You're right, I shouldn't be gifting Sasuke this piece of JUNK. I should get him something else.'

'Oh.' Deidera said, suddenly cooling down and then giggling. 'Silly Kakashi. I thought you were trying to insult art.'

'I would never.' Kakashi forcibly laughed along. That was close.

There was a soft knock on the door and a small pause.

'Come in Sasuke.' Itachi smiled. He could always tell.

Sasuke entered the room and for a moment Itachi thought he was looking into a mirror. The three men turned to look at Sasuke and there was silence. He was dressed in his royal robes and his usual duck butt hair was combed down. The long dark blue robes made Sasuke look a lot taller and broader. He looked like the Uchiha prince that he was, with the Uchiha emblem on his back and the royal sword on his hips. He walked to his brother with a princely elegance that made Itachi's chest swell with pride for the second time that day. His baby brother sure had grown into a fine young man.

'Sasuke.' Deidera gasped. 'You look… beautiful.'

'I would've thought you were Itachi.' Kakashi said. Feeling a bit of pride swell his heart as well.

Sasuke felt his face heat slightly and coughed to hide his embarrassment.

'Hn' Sasuke avoided eye contact with the two. ' We should head to the throne room. The second messenger has arrived and the council members are waiting for you Nii-san'

'Oh, they're in the heart of the town already!' Deidera clapped 'Did the messenger get to see the bride?'

'No.' Sasuke gave Deidera a look. 'Of course not.'

'The bride is not allowed to let anyone see his face once he enters our land Deidera-kun.' Kakashi explained leaning back into the chair.

'Yes.' Itachi agreed. 'Sasuke has to be the first one to see him.'

'Oh.' Deidera nodded 'Well, It's my first time greeting an Uchiha bride since I've started living here. I need to know the do's and don'ts because I have a lot of things planned for him. I can't wait to see him!'

'I heard he's cute.' Kakashi wiggled his brows at Sasuke, who glared at him.

Itachi chuckled at his brother's reaction. When Sasuke was embarrassed, you could easily tell.

'Right. Let's head to the throne room. We don't want those council geezers creeping out your bride.' Deidera giggled and pulled Sasuke out of the room.

'Not coming?' Itachi asked Kakashi, standing up to leave.

'Don't mind me.' Kakashi relaxed further into the chair. He was a bit tired from the mission, he could always meet the bride later. Besides, he wasn't one for celebrations.

Itachi stood in silence for a bit and then walked to his bed where his outer robe was neatly kept. He put it on and smoothed the collars, and turned to face Kakashi again.

'Kakashi.' Itachi said in a slightly serious tone, which caused Kakashi to turn to him. 'You've been away for a long time, so I'm guessing you haven't been informed well about Sasuke's bride.'

'He's from Konoha.' Kakashi nodded. Kakashi had heard from the maids who were gossiping excitedly about the boy bride from Konoha as soon as he reached the palace.

'His name is Naruto.' Kakashi stiffened slightly. 'And according to customs, his mentor will be joining him.'

Kakashi didn't say anything. Itachi really wasn't expecting him to either. He hadn't mentioned these details in his letter to Kakashi during his mission when he had informed him of Sasuke's wedding. It would be dangerous for the bride if the letter got into the wrong hands.

'I see' Kakashi nodded slowly. 'Sasuke is a lucky man then. Naruto has surely been raised well.'

Itachi nodded. He hadn't known how Kakashi would react to this piece of information, but he knew Kakashi always handled situations calmly. At the most Kakashi would avoid the ceremonies, but he would never make things difficult for others, especially for Sasuke. He dearly loved Sasuke, probably as much as Itachi did. He was like a brother to him, and would accept Naruto with just as much love regardless of who he was and where he was from.

'If you find the time tonight, Sasuke will be happy to see you at the wedding ceremony.' Itachi said walking out of the room. ' And please don't bring that…present with you.'

Itachi shut the door behind him and Kakashi sighed deeply. The past still hurt, surprisingly. He needed a good rest before tonight. With that thought Kakashi vanished with a poof leaving a cloud smoke behind.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto was advised not to look out of the carriage window once they entered the town, which was killing him because he was very curious about what the land of wind looked like. However, even if he tried to take a peek he doubted he would be seeing anything through the thick veil over his face. Was this really necessary? The Uchihas sure had a lot of rules.

They had been driving through the town for quite some time now and Naruto imagined it was quite a big town. He could hear people outside murmuring excitedly. They were probably crowded along the streets to watch the royal carriage pass by. Perhaps they already knew he was coming?

'Naruto, don't lean on the door, you'll ruin your robe.' Iruka said pulling Naruto to sit properly. He hadn't realized he had almost been pressing his ear against the door to hear the noises outside.

'We can come and have look around anytime.' Iruka chuckled.

'Okay.' Naruto nodded happily. He had never stepped outside konoha his entire life, he couldn't wait to explore this new town, meet the people, eat their food…mmm food. Speaking of food, they hadn't had any breakfast today and he was starting to feel a little hungry. Naruto wondered what the Uchiha cuisine was like. He'd probably get to try them tonight.

The noises slowly started to fade and it grew a little more quite. The carriage slowly came to a halt and Naruto heard the guards talking to someone outside. After a brief moment, he heard huge Iron gates opening and the carriage started to move again.

'I think we're there.' Iruka said softy.

Naruto sat up straight. Suddenly started to feel very nervous and he wasn't so hungry anymore. He could feel his hear start to race a little and felt a slight dread creep into his chest. He needed to breathe and the veil was not helping. Iruka held Naruto's hand and gave it a squeeze.

'I'm right here.' Iruka whispered and Naruto squeezed his hand back.

The carriage came to a halt and he could hear the maids and guards from the other carriages getting off. There was a soft knock on the door and was slowly opened by a guard dressed in navy blue attire. Naruto couldn't see things properly but could somehow make out the guards and maids lined outside the carriage through his veil. He was helped out of the carriage by Kurenai-san and everyone bowed low once he stood outside. Iruka stepped out after him stood next to him. They climbed huge white stairs that lead to a grand entrance where a few more royal guards bowed down to them. Naruto was led through big long corridors until they reached a massive ornate door with a huge Uchiha emblem carved on it. The guards standing on either side of the door bowed to them as well and one of them softly knocked on the door.

They heard someone inside the room announcing their arrival and the heavy doors slowly opened.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke stood on the right hand side of Itachi's throne. The council members were seated on either side of the large hall and were whispering amongst themselves. Deidera stood on the other of Itachi's throne and was whispering something to him as well. The heavy doors at the end of the hall opened slightly and a messenger rushed in. The hall fell silent.

'Your highness,' the messenger bowed to Itachi 'The escorts have arrived at the gates with our guests.'

'You may leave.' Itachi nodded. The messenger walked out and the door closed with behind.

'Sasuke.' Deidera walked over to Sasuke and nudged him. 'Don't be nervous. Smile'

Sasuke just glared at him and Itachi chuckled.

'I'm not nervous.' Sasuke grunted, but Deidera just rolled his eyes. He didn't believe himself either. He felt stiff and his mouth had gone dry. He had a firm grip on his sword and couldn't relax his hold. Of course, he was nervous. Uchiha Sasuke was nervous.

They heard a soft knock on the door and a guard next to the entrance announced the guests' arrival.

Sasuke gripped his sword tighter and took a deep breath. He needed to sit down.

The massive doors opened slowly and Sasuke could feel his heart drum against his chest. Kurenai stood at the entrance with a shorter figure dressed in white robes and a thick veil over their head. A slightly taller young man with chocolate brown hair stood next to them. The entire hall, along with Itachi stood up.

Sasuke tried his best not to react and held a calm expression on his face. His bride was behind that veil.

They walked up to the throne and bowed deeply.

'Please stand.' Itachi said walking closer to them. They did as they were told. 'I hope you and Naruto-kun had a comfortable journey Iruka-san?' Itachi regarded the man with brown hair.

'Yes your Majesty.' Iruka smiled at the young king in front of him. He felt a bit of nostalgia hit him. 'Thank you.'

'Please, Iruka-san.' Itachi chuckled. 'I'm still Itachi for you.'

'You still are.' Iruka smiled softly, looking at Itachi from head to toe and nodded. ' And you've grown to look like a real king.'

'Thank you, Iruka-san.' Itachi smiled back ' I'm happy to find you in good health, you look lovely as ever.'

Iruka blushed and thanked Itachi.

'This must be Naruto-kun.' Itachi turned to Naruto, who visibly stiffened. Itachi mentally chuckled.

'Yes, this is Naruto.'

'I'll be in your Majesty's care.' a soft voice spoke through the veil and bowed again.

Sasuke felt a slight flutter in his heart at the sound of that voice.

'We're happy to have you Naruto.' Itachi smiled. 'Come.' He held out his hand which Naruto's small hand took gently hold of.

Itachi led him to Deidera and Sasuke. 'Meet Deidera. He's a dear friend of mine and one of our finest shinobis.'

'Pleased to meet you your highness.' Naruto bowed to Deidera who giggled.

'I'm not royalty Naruto-kun. Deidera is just fine.'

'He's almost family Naruto-kun.' Itachi said, at which Deidera smiled softly. 'He's as much of a brother as I will be to you from now on.'

Itachi turned towards Sasuke who looked slightly stiff.

'And this is Sasuke. My younger brother, the prince of our land and your intended.'

'I shall be in your care your highness.' The soft voice slightly trembled. Naruto stood very short next to the prince who had a much bigger built than him. It was very intimidating.

'Please take care of me as well.' Sasuke said bowing back to Naruto. Sasuke could feel his heart race at a very unhealthy pace.

'Aww Naruto-kun.' Deidera giggled. ' You can just call him Sasuke you know.'

'They'll get used to it.' Itachi chuckled, watching the heat rise on his brother's face.

Itachi turned to face the council members and gently pulled Naruto to the front.

'Ladies and gentlemen, the prince's bride.'

The council members all bowed down to Naruto and Naruto did the same. One by one they came over and congratulated the couple. After the formalities were exchanged Itachi asked Kurenai to lead Naruto and Iruka to the guest room, where they could rest and freshen up before the ceremony tonight.

Sasuke watched Naruto leave the throne room with Kurenai silently.

'Miss him already?' Deidera teased.

'Deidera-kun.' Sasuke glared.

'Oh stop Sasuke.' Deidera waved his hand. 'You looked clearly disappointed seeing him leave.'

'I wasn't.'

'You're not curious what he looks like? You're lucky though, you'll be the first to see his face tonight.'

'It doesn't bother me.' Sasuke lied. He was very curious.

'I can tell when you lie young man.'

'It doesn't.'

'Nonsense. His voice was very cute though.'

'Hn.'

'Ah, so you like his voice. Sasuke you pervert.'

'What? No…I…'

'Deidera.' Itachi chuckled. 'Leave the boy alone. It's his big day. Sasuke please wait for me in the meeting room with the council. We have to go over the ceremony with them for tonight.'

Sasuke nodded and left the hall with the council members.

'You spoil him.' Deidera pouted.

'Forgive me.' Itachi laughed 'I just don't want to make him more nervous.'

'He was quite nervous.' Deidera grinned.

'Yes.' Itachi agreed. 'I haven't seen him like this before. Naruto-kun was the right choice.'

'You could never go wrong, Itachi, especially for your brother. You love him too much to make such mistakes.'

'Jealous?' Itachi teased and Deidera laughed.

'Of course not. Not with Sasuke.'

Itachi smiled softly. He knew how much Deidera loved Sasuke too.

'Deidera, please take care of Naruto-kun.' Itachi put a hand on Deidera's shoulder. 'Be with him till the ceremony. I think he's very nervous as well.'

'Okay.' Deidera nodded. 'leave him to me, he'll be fine.'

'Thank you.' Itachi squeezed his shoulder gently and walked out of the hall.

I think I'm slowly getting the hang of this. Or maybe I'm just happy things have started to fall into place:) . Please look forward to the next chapter. I'm very excited and can't wait for you to read it.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: belongs to kishimoto

Kurenai reached Naruto to the guest room and left with Iruka to check the preperations for Naruto's outfit that night. Iruka wanted to make sure everything went well and wanted to see to the preparations himself. As a mentor and guardian, it was his duty and his right.

Naruto entered a large bright room with tall windows. There was a huge bed on a slightly raised platform and an ornate table next to it. On the other side of the room where he was standing, there was a large seating area in front of a grand fireplace. A massive mirror with a dressing table was placed against the wall between the platform and the seating area. He walked over to the mirror and sat in front of it. He slowly took off his veil and looked at his own reflection. He caught sight of the Uchiha ring on his finger and blushed.

He had just met the prince.

He hadn't been able to see very clearly and he could harldy make out his features. He remembered the sound of his voice though and felt the heat rise in his face.

The prince hadn't been able to see Naruto's face either, but he couldn't help but wonder what the prince had thought about him. He had been very nervous when greeting the prince and hadn't been able to control the trembling in his voice. Had the prince noticed?

Sasuke.

Naruto blushed again. Would he be calling the prince by his name? The thought made Naruto blush harder.

Uchiha Sasuke. From tonight, he would be…

'Uchiha Naruto.' He whispered.

His heart fluttered at the sound of that. He squeaked and buried his face in the veil on the table. He giggled…

And then he sighed. He felt like an idiot. He needed to stop thinking about all these things before he fainted from all the blood rushing to his head.

There was a soft knock on his door and Naruto quickly put the veil over his head. The door slowly opened and the king's blonde friend walked in.

What was his name again?

'Ah, Naruto-kun. You're alone, un.' He walked up to Naruto and sat next to him. A maid followed with a trolley filled with food and drinks. She pushed it to the middle of the seating area and started laying the plates on the table.

'Yes, um….'

'Deidera.' Ah yes, Deidera.

'Deidera-sama.'

'Just Deidera is good.' Deidera laughed patting Naruto on his back. 'Or Deidera-kun. That's what Sasuke calls me.'

'Oh.' Naruto blushed.

'I brought some breakfast, I don't think you had the time to have any with all these strict Uchiha customs.' Deidera said walking over to the trolley.

Ah, this person was really the kindest. He brought him food.

'Thank you, Deidera…kun.' Naruto squeaked the last bit out and Deidera chuckled.

'Come, have a seat, we'll have breakfast together. Itachi and Sasuke will be having their breakfast with the council members, they have to go over the ceremony for tonight.'

Naruto walked over to Deidera and they sat down on the large armchairs and watched was the maid laid the food on the table. Naruto watched intently, his mouth watering at the sight of all the food.

'This is an Sasuke's favorite, I thought you might want to try it.' Deidera said pointing to a plate with green triangular sandwiches.

'They're onigiris, try one.' Deidera urged offering the plate to Naruto. Naruto picked one and brought it under his veil. Really, this veil was a nuisance. He took a small bite and chewed slowly. There was rice, tuna and something else in it.

'It's stuffed with tuna and tomatoes.' Naruto swallowed it and hesitated to take another bite. He hated tomatoes.

'Sasuke loves tomatoes.' Deidera giggled. 'Did you not like it?'

'It's nice, Deidera-kun. Thank you.' Naruto lied, wondering how he was going to finish the rest of it.

'Let's leave that for now. Try the other dishes, they're a lot better.' Deidera smiled, seeing clearly how Naruto didn't enjoy the onigiri.

The rest of the meal was delicious and Naruto felt he could get used to these dishes. Most of them were fish dishes, which they had with a bowl of rice and some soup. People hardly ate rice in Konoha, but Naruto didn't mind, he enjoyed the breakfast thoroughly.

'I'm glad you enjoyed the meal.' Deidera smiled putting his chopsticks down. Naruto looked at the table and realized most of the food was gone. He hadn't realized he had eaten so much; he was so hungry that he had forgotten where he was.

'Thank you for the food.' Naruto whispered and put his chopsticks down as well. He could just die of embarrassment.

'I'm glad you liked it. The cuisine is quite different from Konoha's so I was a little worried if it would be to your liking.'

'It was very good, Deidera-kun. Thank you.' Naruto said, taking the napkin from his lap and folding it back on the table.'

'You have such nice manners Naruto-kun.' Deidera said noticing Naruto's actions. 'Uchiha's are very particular about those things, you'll fit right in, un.'

Naruto hadn't given it much thought until Kurenai had mentioned how well mannered he was a couple of times during his journey. He and the other boy brides had been raised this way, so it came naturally to him.

'I remember when I was new in the palace, I had to work very hard and watch myself. I didn't want to embarrass Itachi, you know.' Deidera giggled.

'Deidera-kun is not an Uchiha?' Naruto asked a little surprised.

'Oh no, I don't even look Uchiha.' Deidera laughed. 'I was raised in Suna, the king was my uncle and his family looked after me.'

'Did you marry into the Uchiha family?' Naruto asked, feeling very curious.

'No, I'm not married Naruto-kun.' Deidera smiled softly. He might as well tell him, he was going to be a part of Itachi's family now. 'You see, when I turned twelve, my uncle decided to send me to the land of mist to be a boy bride and when Itachi found out he brought me here. To be precise, he kidnapped me.'

Naruto gasped and Deidera chuckled.

'Don't worry, It wasn't against my will or anything. If anything, Itachi saved me.'

'You knew him before he kidnapped you?'

'We were very close friends. Itachi would come visit Suna often with his father, or sometimes alone just to meet me. When his parents passed away, Itachi didn't have that sort of time or freedom. But when the news of me being sent to mist reached him, he sneaked into the palace and brought me to wind.'

'Why didn't you want to be a boy bride?' Naruto asked. He had never thought about the fact that there actually was a choice.

'I wouldn't have been able to see Itachi again.' Deidera smiled sadly. 'He was the only friend I ever had. Visitors are forbidden for boy brides right?'

'Not in Konoha.' Naruto shook his head. 'We're just not allowed to meet them outside the palace.'

'Ah, okay.' Deidera nodded. 'You were lucky then. The boy brides in mist have a very strict upbringing. They aren't allowed visitors, even if they are family.'

Naruto knew there were other places where they brought up boy brides, but had been under the impression that they were all raised the same way.

'So I've been living here with Itachi and Sasuke since then, and now this is my home.'

Deidera must've been very important to the king if he went through all that trouble to bring him here, Naruto wondered.

'And Deidera-kun's Uncle?' Naruto asked, hoping he wasn't asking too many questions. ' Was he not mad?'

'Oh he was.' Deidera laughed. 'But you see, even at that age Itachi was a lot more powerful than my uncle. He had just defeated a whole army with very little effort too. Uncle couldn't dare challenge him.'

So Kurenai-san was telling the truth. The king really was a powerful man …

'You're in safe hands in the land of wind Naruto.' Deidera reached out and place a hand on Naruto's. ' Itachi won't let anyone harm us. Of course, Sasuke's there too.'

Naruto blushed under the veil.

'He's one of our finest shinobis. Not many dare to challenge him either.' Deidera chuckled. 'He works very hard too, but now that you're here we won't be too worried about that. You'll take care of him, right?'

Naruto blushed harder and nodded.

'Naruto.' Dedeira sighed and suddenly looked serious.

'Yes?' Naruto wondered if he had done something wrong.

'I don't like talking to you through this veil. It's killing me.'

Naruto laughed and Deidera grinned wide.

'I'm glad.' Deidera said giggling. 'You finally laughed. A joke is always a good ice breaker, you know.'

Naruto stared at Deidera through his veil. This person really was very kind.

'Okay.' Deidera said standing up and pulling Naruto up with him. 'You need to rest.'

He was pushed towards the bed and was made to sit on it. Deidera then pulled a rope hanging near the bed and a thin curtain lightly fell separating the bed with the rest of the room.

'Now you can take a good nap without that stupid veil, un.' Deidera giggled walking to the door. ' I'll be back with Iruka-san. Till then try and get some sleep, okay.'

Deidera shut the door behind him. Naruto took the veil off and put it on the table beside the bed.

If everyone in the palace were like Deidera-kun, he couldn't wait to get to know them.

He removed the two outer layers of his outfit and neatly folded it placing it on the table on top of the veil. He then climbed onto the massive bed and lied down. He could really use a nap.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke sat next to Itachi, who was seated at the end of a long table facing the council members who were seated on either side of the large table. They had just finished discussing tonight's ceremony, and he couldn't remember most of it. Why were they having this meeting anyway? It's not like they could make any changes now.

Shouldn't they be busy with other things? Like, seeing to the bride?

But Deidera-kun was probably handling that. Was he expected to do something as well? But he probably wouldn't be allowed to meet his bride before the ceremony.

Which he was fine with by the way.

Either way, this meeting was unnecessary. He needed to go back to him room and rest before the ceremony. Or train. Training was much better.

Naruto was probably resting too right now.

'…ke. Sasuke?' He was snapped out of his thoughts when Itachi called him.

'What will you be doing Sasuke?'

'Naruto.' Sasuke blurted out before he could stop himself. What?

The entire table stared at him and sweat dropped. It took all of Itachi not to fall off his chair laughing. He watched his younger brother go beet red in a matter of seconds and cough a couple of times to hide his embarrassment.

Sasuke on the other hand felt like he could just die. Just dig a hole, bury himself and die.

'Yes, of course.' Itachi nodded, trying to hide his smirk. 'That's the other duty, but I was referring to the security, Sasuke.'

Itachi looked clearly amused as he watched Sasuke glare the best Uchiha glare he could muster. Somehow, with his face all blushing, he didn't look so terrifying.

'Could you please repeat the question?' Sasuke tried to clam down.

'The Hyuugas have decided to make it to the ceremony tonight. We have to send them escorts.' Itachi repeated.

'We've already sent most of the genins to the other countries to escort our guests, so I will have to send a few of the recent chunin graduates.'

'Okay, I'll leave that to you then.' Itachi nodded. 'Well everything seems about right and taken care of. We should probably take a small rest before the ceremony as well.'

Itachi dismissed the meeting and they all walked out of the meeting hall.

Sasuke headed straight to his quarters before Itachi could call him. Itachi would definitely tease him about what just happened.

What was wrong with him?

He needed to spar with someone. Kakashi should be in his room.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Itachi was in a good mood. He walked into his chamber and took off his outer robe and chuckled as he recalled Sasuke's face in the meeting room. Was the boy already smitten? He was relieved. He wanted his brother to be happy, and it seemed like Naruto would be able to bring him that happiness.

When they had lost their parents, Sasuke had only been nine years of age. The incident had completely changed him and he had matured too quickly. Itachi had wanted Sasuke to enjoy his youth a little longer, but Sasuke had been aware of their position. He had known, even at that tender age, that he needed to support his brother in ruling the country. He had worked very hard, and even till today, he gave his all to be useful to Itachi.

He was really blessed to have Sasuke in his life.

When the Hokage of Konoha had visited a few months back, he had talked very fondly of Naruto. The more he heard about him, the more certain he had been that Naruto would be the perfect partner for his brother. After placing an official meeting with the hokage, and learning more about Naruto, Itachi had looked no further and had made his decision.

Itachi thought he would be having a bit of problem convincing Sasuke, but had been completely surprised when Sasuke agreed to his decision without a second thought. He was worried that his brothered might've had agreed to make things easy for him, and had felt slightly guilty this entire time. But seeing Sasuke's reaction to his bride today assured him that he had indeed made the right choice.

Sasuke was definitely in good hands.

A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts and turned to see Deidera enter with a huge grin on his face. He shut the door behind him and walked up to Itachi.

'Naruto-kun is so cute, un.' Deidera giggled.

'You saw him?' Itachi asked, looking slightly worried.

'No silly. I just talked to him.' Deidera waved his hand and giggled seeing Itachi visibly relax.

'We had breakfast together, I think he really liked our cuisine.' Deidera said taking the robe from Itachi's hands and placing it neatly on the bed. 'I don't think he liked the onigiri though. How can Sasuke like tomatoes in his onigiri? They taste horrible.'

'He just likes tomatoes a lot.' Itachi chuckled. 'What did you talk about?'

'I told him a bit about myself. About where I was raised and how I was kidnapped by you.' Deidera chuckled. Itachi smiled and pulled him closer.

'You mean how you were rescued by me.' Itachi smile grew into a smirk as he wrapped an arm around Deidera's waist, pulling him flush against his broad chest.

'Of course, my apologies, rescued.' Deidera giggled again and looked up at Itachi, who stood a lot taller than him, placing his hands against the strong chest.

'And about us?' Itachi asked, lifting Deidera easily so he was standing on his toes.

'No. I didn't tell him that bit. We should though, gradually.'

'Gradually.' Itachi nodded, feeling somehow relieved. He leaned down and buried his face in Deidera's neck and breathed in the familiar soothing scent.

'Yea' Deidera whispered and put his arms around Itachi's neck.

Itachi wondered how Naruto would react if he knew about their relationship. Sasuke and Kakashi were the only ones whom they had trusted their little secret with. They couldn't risk telling anyone else. As the eldest son, and especially as the king of his nation, Itachi had to marry a woman and produce an heir for his kingdom. He felt guilty in a way, and felt like he was deceiving his people, who looked up to him and trusted him. But, at the same time he couldn't give Deidera up. The thought was too scary, not having him here with him. He simply couldn't and wouldn't let go.

They stayed like that for a while longer until Deidera slowly withdrew his arms. But Itachi hugged him tighter.

'Itachi.' Deidera whispered. 'I have to go.'

'Where.' Itachi asked maintaining his hold.

'Well.' Deidera chuckled. 'His majesty has asked me to stay with our guest until the ceremony.'

'It's okay.' Itachi smirked into his neck. 'He'll understand.'

'Itachi, let go.' Deidera laughed. 'Naruto-kun is alone and I have to see how Iruka-san is handling things too.'

Itachi held on a little longer and nodded. He kissed Deidera's neck lightly and slowly let go. 'Fine.' He said, feeling slightly disappointed, but Deidera was right. Naruto shouldn't be left alone. 'But, you'll have to make up for it tonight.' He smirked at Deidera who blushed and smacked his arm.

'You are a bigger pervert than Kakashi is.' Deidera pouted and Itachi laughed.

'Thank you taking care of Naruto.' Itachi smiled at Deidera, who smiled back.

'Of course, he's your family now. He's important to me too.'

Itachi nodded. No. He really couldn't let go of Deidera.

'I have to go now, Iruka-san must be handling everyone alone. There are just too many maids involved and I doubt it will be easy for him. Plus the dressmaker is a bit of an asshole to new people, so I need to be there to handle that prick.' He stood on his toes and gave Itachi a quick kiss on his lips and rushed out.

Itachi just stood there watching the door shut slowly. He would get himself a proper kiss later, he promised to himself and headed to his study to prepare for tonight.

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please review and let me know how you liked it :)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

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Sasuke closed his eyes as he relaxed in the bath. He had trained continuously for five hours and felt completely drained. He hadn't been able to find Kakashi anywhere so he had been training by himself. He opened his eyes and looked at a small cut on his thumb. He had been too distracted and had almost sliced his fingers off.

He sighed and wiped his hair out of his face. He kept remembering that soft voice behind the veil.

Naruto.

He felt a pleasant tug at his heart.

His bride had been a little nervous. He had noticed a slight tremble in his voice when he had greeted Sasuke which told him that his bride had been conscious of him. Somehow knowing this pleased Sasuke very much.

He was probably more nervous than Sasuke was, since this was a completely new environment where he knew no one. He felt a sudden need to protect his bride. After all, he would be the person his bride would rely on more than anyone else.

He had always noticed this with Deidera and Itachi. Though Deidera was a very skilled shinobi, Itachi was always watching over him, and Deidera allowed it. It was very subtle the way Itachi did it, but it hadn't gone unnoticed by Sasuke.

He wondered if he would be able to do it as well as Itachi. Watching over his bride. Naruto probably expected it from him?

Sasuke sighed and got out of the water. He grabbed a fresh towel and headed to the changing room.

He wiped himself and put on his robes. He should head to his quarters now; it was time to ready for the ceremony. He reached for his sword on his hips but found nothing. He remembered leaving it in the changing room with his clothes before heading to the bath area. Why was he so distracted today? He had definitely left it here somewhere.

'Yes, the prince's boy bride.' Sasuke stopped in his movements at the mention of his bride. He sensed two maids in the corridor outside.

'Ah, I wanted to be there too.' One squeaky voice whined and the other one giggled.

'Only a handful of us are assisting Iruka-sama, but don't worry, we don't get to see the bride either.'

'I know, but I wanted to help dress the bride.' The other maid giggled harder.

'The robes are gorgeous!' She exclaimed. 'The prince sure is lucky to have the first look.'

'The bride is even luckier to marry him.'

'Yes, this is as lucky as a boy bride can get.'

'Of course he is, he has someone as gorgeous as our highness as his husband.'

'Silly. You really think that matters?' The other maid scoffed.

'What do you mean?'

'Bride or not, he's still a boy. You really think marrying a handsome prince is a boy's dream?'

Sasuke frowned.

'What are you saying Ino-san, he's a boy bride. He's not like other boys, I think he's very happy to be here.'

'You're very naive, aren't you?'

'Why?' the maid sounded confused.

'If you were to marry a girl and were required to play the role of a husband, would it matter if she was a gorgeous princess?'

The maid fell silent and the other one continued.

'See? He might have been brought up as a bride, but he's still a boy.'

'What are you trying to say? He was forced into this?'

'Of course not.' The other maid panicked and lowered her voice. 'But its not like the boy has a say in this matter.'

'Ino-san, of course he did, he had a choice.'

'He didn't. The previous nobles I worked for had a boy bride from the mist. That boy was very unhappy. You really think that boy wanted to be held by another man?'

There was a small silence after which the other maid whispered. 'Ino-san, you shouldn't say these things out loud, you might get into trouble. Besides our prince's bride is not from mist, the rules are different.'

'I hope you're right. And our prince is kind, so this bride will surely be happy.'

'Yes, yes. He's very lucky.' The other maid quickly agreed.

'Alright, I have to hurry back. I was sent to get some snacks for the bride. He has quite the appetite.' The maid giggled and Sasuke could hear them hurry off in different directions.

He stood there until he could no longer sense the maids.

Sasuke knew better than to listen to the maid's gossips, but somehow he wasn't comfortable about he had just heard. He knew very little about boy brides and Naruto was the first one to join his family since his great grand uncle's marriage. He realized how little he knew about the person he was going to marry.

He needed to talk to his uncle tonight.

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Naruto sat in front of the mirror dressed in heavy white robes that had gold patterns embroidered all over. The veil was similar to the one before, but a lot heavier and he couldn't see anything from a certain distance. He couldn't wait to get rid of it.

He blushed at that thought. The person removing the veil tonight would be the prince.

'Done.' Deidera exclaimed as he placed the Uchiha ring on Naruto's finger.

'I wish I could see how you look.' Iruka smiled.

'That Sasuke sure is lucky.' Deidera sighed. 'Stupid Uchiha traditons.'

'Uchiha men sure are possessive.' Iruka giggled.

'What's the point in hiding the bride when he's at his most beautiful?' Deidera rolled his eyes.

'I guess that's just reserved for the husband to see.' Iruka shrugged.

'That's just stupid.' Deidera pouted, and Iruka nodded in agreement.

There was a small knock on the door and Deidera gestured for a maid to open it. A maid walked in and bowed.

'All the guests have arrived Deidera-sama.'

'Oh good.' Deidera grinned 'Thank you, you can leave. Iruka-san we should take Naruto-kun to the parlor near the grand hall. Sasuke should be waiting there.'

Iruka nodded and they headed out with Naruto towards the main building.

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Sasuke stood next to the window feeling very stiff. He was dressed in dark blue robes that were a little too heavy for his liking. His hair had been brushed back to reveal his gorgeous face and his skin looked paler and flawless against the dark robes. His hand gripped the royal sword tightly and he could feel his palms sweat a little. This sword felt too foreign. In the end he had left the bath without his sword.

'Relax Sasuke, you look stiff.' Itachi said calmly from where he was seated next to the fireplace. He was dressed in his royal robes and looked very much like the Uchiha king he was. ' And let go of the sword, you'll frighten the guests.'

Sasuke simply turned and looked at Itachi, and Itachi sighed. He walked over to his brother and brushed off some invisible dust from Sasuke's shoulder.

'Naruto-kun is going be very nervous, Sasuke. You need help him feel comfortable.'

Sasuke nodded in response.

'So try to converse with the guests, introduce your bride to everyone. Answer for him if possible.'

Sasuke nodded again.

'Don't leave him alone. He needs you tonight.' Sasuke looked up at Itachi. ' And from now on he'll always need you.' He smiled at his younger brother.

'Yes, nii-san.'

Itachi patted Sasuke's shoulder gently. His younger brother had a bride who would look up to him now. It made him happy and sad the same time.

There was a knock and Itachi turned to face the door. Deidera slowly walked in and grinned spotting the two boys by the window.

'Gentlemen.' Deidera smiled. 'The Uchiha bride.'

Deidera gently pulled Naruto into the room, with Iruka close behind. Naruto's small figure was covered in layers of white robe and his face was hidden behind a thick veil. Itachi and Sasuke straightened themselves and walked over to them. Naruto bowed to them and greeted them softly.

A familiar flutter tickled Sasuke's chest for the second time that day.

'The guests are here.' Deidera said facing Itachi, who nodded. 'Shall we?'

Itachi held out his hand for Naruto, who took it gently. He then placed Naruto's small hand in Sasuke's larger one 'We will see you inside. Sasuke will be with you.'

Itachi gave Sasuke a pat on the shoulder and left the room with the others, closing the door behind them.

Sasuke stood there, Naruto's soft hand resting on his open palm, the tiny flutter in his heart suddenly transformed into rapid heartbeats. He just stood there next to Naruto's small figure, feeling extremely aware of the light weight on his large palm. He faintly heard Itachi's arrival being announced at a distance. He hesitated a little before he gently closed his large hand around Naruto's. Naruto jumped a little, startled by the sudden action.

'Let's go.' Sasuke said and his bride nodded. He was a little surprised at the slight disappointment he felt at Naruto's silence. They walked out of the room and headed to the grand hall. The heavy doors slowly opened and Sasuke led his bride into the large hall.

The hall was filled with guests who were seated on either side of the large room. The entire hall stood up and Sasuke and Naruto made their way to the platform at the end of the room where there were priests dressed in black robes. Itachi stood next to them looking very pleased.

Itachi gestured for everyone to be seated and the ceremony began. It was a short ceremony where the priests said a few prayers and blessed the couple. Itachi poured some sake into a small silver bowl which Sasuke and Naruto had to drink, symbolizing the exchange of their vows and promising themselves to one another. Naruto blushed when Sasuke removed the Uchiha ring and placed a smaller one on his ring finger. Sasuke felt the familiar tingle in his heart again when Naruto took his hand and slipped in a similar ring with his tiny hands.

After the ceremony Sasuke and Naruto led the guests to the banquet hall, where they approached them one by one and congratulated them. It seemed like it would never end until Deidera came over and took a hungry Naruto to have something. Sasuke excused himself to take some fresh air. There were too many people and the music was too loud, it was starting to suffocate him.

He went out to the balcony and leaned against the rails. He sensed another presence and slowly grabbed his sword. When the presence grew stronger he whipped around unsheathing his sword only to find a startled looking Iruka a few steps behind him.

'Your Highness.' Iruka gasped 'I apologize, I didn't mean to startle you.'

'No, please, don't apologize.' Sasuke putting his sword back and softly adding 'Sensei.'

Iruka smiled and then giggled. 'You still call me that?'

Sasuke nodded. 'And you should still call me Sasuke.'

Iruka smiled wider. This boy. 'Congratulations, I'm very happy for you, Sasuke-kun.'

'Thank you.' Sasuke gave Iruka a small smile.

'And you've grown into such a fine young man.' Iruka felt his chest swell as he said it. 'His Majesty must be very proud.'

Sasuke nodded again, not knowing what to say. He was never good with compliments.

'I'm happy to see you again, sensei.'

'Yes, I'm happy to be welcomed back again.' Iruka smiled softly at Sasuke, who smirked and nodded.

'You're always welcome here.'

'Naruto is very lucky.' Iruka giggled suddenly. 'You will make a great husband.'

Sasuke remained silent, remembering the talk between the two maids earlier.

'I wish the two of you every happiness.'

'Thank you, sensei.' Sasuke gave Iruka a small smile. 'I hope you will be happy with us too.'

'I'm happy as long as the two of you are, Sasuke-kun. I couldn't ask for more.'

Sasuke knew Iruka meant it. He had always been this way. Always putting other's needs and happiness before his. It used to worry him a bit, but now that he was joining his family, Sasuke felt relieved that Iruka would at least be around people who cared.

'I need to take a little walk.' Iruka mumbled ' The Uchiha wine is much too strong for me.' He giggled again and Sasuke nodded noticing a small blush on Iruka's cheeks.

'The garden outside this hall should not be too crowded.' Sasuke suggested.

'That's a good idea, Thank you.' Iruka chuckled and Sasuke watched as Iruka walked off in the direction of the garden.

He frowned, wondering if it was okay to leave him alone.

'Sasuke.' Sasuke whipped his head around to find an elderly looking man, slightly taller than him but with a bigger built, and long black hair reaching his across his butt, looking at him with a an emotionless expression.

'Uncle Madara.' Sasuke relaxed his hold on the sword, which he hadn't realized had been pulled half way out of the sheath unconsciously. He could never sense him.

'Your senses are not strong enough.' Madara's eyes shifted from Sasuke to the now fully sheathed sword.

'Yet.' The man nodded, pleased with Sasuke's reply.

'Itachi really pampers you, Congratulations.' He waved his hand in the direction of the hall carelessly.

'Thank you, Uncle.' Sasuke guessed he was talking about the extravagant wedding dinner 'My bride is with Deidera…'

Madara shook his head slowly which caused Sasuke to stop mid sentence. 'I have already met your bride. I came to congratulate you so I could take my leave.'

'Thank you for coming.' Sasuke said, not wanting to stop him. Madara hardly ever attended ceremonies and meetings, and when he did he never stayed longer than necessary. He was the eldest in the clan and no one dared to tell him what to do.

'I had to.' Madara said looking at Sasuke without changing his facial expression. He turned around to leave when Sasuke called him.

'Uncle.' Sasuke hesitated for a second but continued 'I need to know something.'

Madara turned to fully face Sasuke again and waited for him to continue.

'Your brother had a boy bride.' Sasuke started, not sure what he was asking 'How were things between them?'

Madara regarded Sasuke for a while, his expression unchanged, and simply said 'Normal.'

'No, I mean,' Sasuke tried again 'how was the bride?'

Madara looked at Sasuke for a few seconds again, 'fragile,' he spat.

Sasuke felt slightly annoyed. These were not the answers he was looking for. Was his uncle teasing him?

'What is it boy? Ask me clearly.' Madara seemed a little annoyed as well.

'Was he happy?' Sasuke asked not wanting to beat around the bush. Madara's face suddenly had a small hint of surprise, which quickly vanished, and Sasuke found himself looking at the same expressionless face again.

'He was married to an Uchiha.' Madara replied, sounding like he expected Sasuke to be satisfied with his answer. Sasuke understood what his uncle was saying. The bride was fortunate to have been married to an Uchiha, and to have been a part of one of the most powerful and influential clan. What else would a boy bride want?

'Sasuke,' Madara started, sensing that the boy was not satisfied with the reply, 'your boy bride is fortunate to be a part of our clan. There is no better option for him.'

'Was there one?' Sasuke asked before he could stop himself. Madara looked at him, with a thoughtful expression.

'He does not need one.' He said, his aristocratic face, unchanged and cold.

'Uncle...' Madara raised his hand and stopped Sasuke before he could say anything else.

'Your priority, boy, is your clan.' Madara said, his voice low but firm 'Your bride is but a duty, and he knows it well. He has been raised not to have any other expectations. He has a place to stay, a high status in the society and riches to keep him content.'

Sasuke frowned slightly. It all sounded true, but his uncle had put it in a very unpleasant manner. It didn't sound like a marriage; he made it sound like a trade.

Did Naruto think that way too?

'Don't stray from your priorities, Sasuke. ' Madara continued with the same tone 'Your bride is still young, but he'll learn to adjust. They all do.' He gave Sasuke a firm look and left before Sasuke could say anything.

Sasuke just watched him leave. He had more questions now, but he didn't want any answers, not the ones Madara gave at least. He walked back into the hall and decided to distract himself with a good drink. Talking to Madara was probably not the best decision before his wedding night.

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The celebration was over and the guests finally left. Naruto and Iruka followed Deidera as they were led through the massive corridors of the palace. He felt exhausted after greeting so many people. He had never been around such a big crowd, or attended such a grand celebration before. It was very tiring.

'This is Sasuke's quarters, Naruto-kun.' Deidera said leading him past the guards who bowed to them. 'Not everyone is allowed here, because Sasuke is a little private like that, but this will be your quarters too, un.'

Naruto looked around as they passed through a few more corridors. He couldn't really make out what it looked like through the veil, but he could tell it was just as grand as the rest of the palace. They reached a massive door, which Deidera opened and led them inside.

'And this is his room. Sorry, your room.' Deidera giggled and nudged Naruto, who felt the heat rise in his face for the hundredth time that day. 'I'm going to give you two a moment. I'll be waiting outside, Iruka-san.'

'Thank you, Deidera-san.' Iruka smiled. Deidera turned around to leave but stopped suddenly.

'Ah, I almost forgot.' Deidera said turning around, he walked straight to Naruto and took him completely by surprise by wrapping his arms around the small boy and giving him a tight hug. 'Welcome to the family, Uchiha Naruto.'

'T-thank you.' Naruto squeaked, and timidly hugged him back.

'I will see you at breakfast tomorrow. I can't wait!' Deidera released him, kissed his veil covered forehead and walked out of the room.

'You're with such good people.' Iruka said softly, watching Deidera close the door behind him. 'Come here.' Iruka said gently pulling Naruto to the large bed and sitting him down. 'Congratulations again.' He said taking Naruto's hands in his.

Naruto just nodded.

'Sasuke-kun will be here in a while.'Iruka said. Naruto stiffened at the mention of the prince's name, and felt his heart pace quicken. 'We've prepared the room for you, so you will find all your belongings in here.'

Naruto stayed silent, the situation finally dawning on him. Iruka continued. 'The dressing mirror and jewellery drawer are from Deidera-san, make you thank him in the morning. As per tradition, you will have to greet them without the veil tomorrow.'

'Iruka-sensei,' Naruto said feebly, 'I'm scared.'

Iruka's expression turned soft at the tremble in Naruto's voice. He released Naruto's hands but Naruto immediately held on tighter.

'Naruto.' Iruka tried to scold but it sounded more like a plea. He slowly pulled his hands out of Naruto's grasp and pulled him into a hug. Naruto could feel hands tremble with nervousness, and tried to bury himself in Iruka's hug.

'Sasuke-kun is a kind boy, Naruto.' Iruka said softly, gently releasing Naruto from his hug ' I need you to trust him, okay.'

'But, Iruka…' Naruto said and then paused, not knowing what it was that he was protesting. He just wanted Iruka to stay with him a little longer.

'Listen, Naruto.' Iruka said gently, not wanting to scare the poor boy 'any fears, any doubts, you can share with Sasuke-kun. He will be very understanding about it, okay?'

The words slowly sunk in, and Naruto nodded hesitantly.

'Like I said, you need to trust him.' Iruka hugged him one more time and placed a lingering kiss on his veiled forehead. 'Just talk to him.' He hesitantly let go of Naruto and walked out of the room closing the door behind him.

Naruto slowly lifted his veil and looked around the spacious room. The prince's room. He looked down at the massive bed he was seated on and felt heat creep up his cheeks. He lifted his hands to his chest and clutched the robes. His heart was beating against his chest and he could actually feel the rhythmic thumping through the robes. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He mentally scolded himself for being so scared. What was he so scared of? Didn't Iruka just say that the prince would be very understanding? He just needed to let the prince know that he was scared.

Naruto nodded to himself. Yes, that's exactly what he would do, he would tell the prince he was not ready. If Iruka trusted the prince, then he had no reason to doubt him. He could try and get to know him better tonight, learn about one of Konoha's finest who he was now wedded to.

Naruto smiled to himself. He felt a bit of excitement tickle his stomach just thinking about talking to the prince. He pulled his veil over his face again and sat more comfortably. He needed to patiently wait for the prince now.

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The decorations and the lights were still up, and the palace was still bright and dazzling against the dark night sky. Sasuke walked out the main door where a small quad of Shinobis waited for him mounted on their horses. A guard came running to him and bowed.

'Here,' Sasuke said handing him a small scroll, 'give this to the king first thing in the morning.'

'Yes, your highness.' The guard took the scroll and hurried off.

'We're ready, taichou.' A shinobi said waiting in position for Sasuke's orders.

He walked up to a strong black horse and gracefully mounted it. He turned back to look at the palace and felt his chest grow heavy. Naruto was probably waiting for him in his quarters. For the first time ever, Sasuke was hesitant about his decision, but for the moment it was the best solution he could think of. He didn't want to force Naruto into anything that he might find unpleasant, and even if he asked him, his bride probably wouldn't voice out his disagreement.

When a messenger had come to him an hour ago with news that there was a small disturbance in the eastern border, Sasuke had called in a few of his shinobis and had decided to handle the matter himself. He probably could've just sent a handful of shinobis but he needed an excuse to not face Naruto tonight. He wasn't really sure why he was doing this, and kept telling himself that he was doing it for Naruto's sake. He wanted to give Naruto some time to adjust to his new home and be comfortable with everyone before he faced his 'duties'.

Though at the back of his mind he knew it was him who needed time. He wasn't ready to face Naruto yet and felt that things would go terribly wrong if he tried to face him today.

The problem at the border would probably only take a few days to settle, and by that time he would know how to approach Naruto and decide on how he wanted their relationship to progress. He didn't want a trade like Madara had described. He wanted a marriage.

He tore his gaze away from the palace and turned towards the main gate.

'Let's go.' He said, and rode out of the main gates with the shinobis following him closely.

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A big thank you for the wonderful reviews ! I'm not much of a writer, or a writer at all, but you guys have written such wonderful things *sob*

This chapter might've disappointed you, because of how Sasuke reacted in the end, but don't worry, things will turn out much better than you expected in the next chapter ;)


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

I couldn't wait for you to read the next chapter so here it is :)

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Blue eyes cracked open and tried to adjust to the bright sunlight flooding the entire room, but decided it was too bright and shut again to drift back to sleep. There was a movement behind him, but he ignored it in favor of his precious sleep. A moment later strong warm hands slid smoothly up his bare thighs and wound itself around his waist and pulled him flush against a solid chest.

'Good morning.' A deep voice whispered next to his ear, husky from sleep.

'Morning.' Deidera smiled into the pillow, caressing Itachi's arms that were tightly coiled around his slim waist from behind. He felt light kisses on his bare shoulder that slowly and deliberately travelled up his neck.

'Mn.' Deidera hummed in appreciation as the light kisses changed into soft nibbling and sucking. The mouth then moved to a spot at the base of his neck and started sucking hard with a clear intention of leaving a bruise.

'Ah, Itachi stop.' Deidera grabbed the hand that was gradually sliding down below his waist.

'Why?' Itachi said, continuing to assault that spot on Deidera's slim neck.

'B-because,' Deidera panted, feeling Itachi smirk against his neck. 'I'm still sore from last night.'

Itachi stopped and brought his hand back to his waist. He easily turned Deidera around to face him, smirking at Deidera's flushed cheeks.

'Was I too rough?' Itachi asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

Deidera smiled softly, in the way that made Itachi feel all warm in his chest.

'Never.' He whispered and closed the distance between them to capture those perfect Uchiha lips in a kiss. He smiled into the kiss when Itachi rolled on top of him and deepened it. His slender arms automatically wrapped themselves around Itachi's neck as Itachi delved into his mouth and dominated the kiss.

Last night had been a little more intense than Deidera was used to. He guessed it was because Itachi had been in a very good mood. They'd usually have one more round in the morning every time Deidera spent the night in Itachi's room, but today Deidera didn't feel like he could handle it. He could still feel a dull pain in his lower back.

He changed his angle to give Itachi a better access, trusting him not to get carried away. Itachi was a lot bigger and stronger than him, but he knew he would never force Deidera into anything that he wasn't comfortable with. A low growl rumbled in Itachi's chest as he slid his fingers into Itachi's hair and gripped it. He started to feel light headed and moaned into the kiss. He had never kissed anyone else other than Itachi, but he was confident that Itachi was an amazing kisser. Apart from amazing other things, he mentally added.

A knock at the door startled them and they quickly pulled apart. Blue wide eyes looked into Black calm ones in panic as Itachi lay on top of him, both panting and out of breath.

'Itachi.' Deidera whispered, panic evident in his voice. If someone saw them this way Deidera dreaded to think what the consequences would be.

'Shh.' Itachi hushed him and kissed his forehead. 'What is it?' Itachi said calmly sitting up. Deidera sat up as well and pressed himself against Itachi's side, holding onto his arm tightly. Itachi placed his hand on Deidera's in an effort to calm him.

'A message, Your Majesty.' A muffled voice replied. Itachi cursed under his breath. He had to take the message personally and couldn't delay such things or it could land into the wrong hands.

'Itachi.' Deidera whispered again, panic rising in his chest. Itachi kissed his hand and pulled him gently to sit behind him.

'Stay behind me.' Itachi said. Deidera plastered himself against his broad back and hid his face. He covered Deidera's naked form with the sheets and covered his own naked lower half with the rest. 'Come in.'

The door opened and a shinobi entered with a small scroll in his hand. The shinobi spotted Itachi on his bed and quickly apologized.

'Forgive me, you majesty, I didn't know there was company.' He stepped back and bowed.

'Don't worry, boy.' Itachi said, feeling Deidera stiffen behind him. He calmly put his hand forward. 'The message.'

'Yes, your majesty.' The young shinobi looked embarrassed. He quickly handed Itachi the scroll and stepped back again. Itachi unrolled the message and read it silently. A small frown appeared on his face as he finished reading the short message and sighed. There was a small silence where Itachi looked like he was contemplating something.

'When did he leave?'Itachi asked the shinobi, his voice low and dangerous.

'Last night, your majesty.' The shinobi said nervously.

'So he's already there.' Itachi muttered. The shinobi opened his mouth to answer but quickly shut it realizing that the king was talking to himself.

'Come back in half an hour.' Itachi said and the shinobi bowed hastily and left the room.

Itachi reached behind him and gently pulled Deidera from behind his back. 'You okay?' He whispered, cupping his face and lifting it to face him.

'I'm okay.' Deidera nodded but his face still looked panicked. Itachi kissed soft lips and pulled him into his arms.

'Relax, He didn't recognize you.' Itachi said rubbing Deidera's back soothingly. Deidera silently nodded and buried his face in Itachi's chest. They stayed like that for a while and Deidera slowly pulled away.

'I need to go before he returns.' Deidera said, reluctantly pulling himself out of Itachi's embrace. Itachi nodded and let him go. He silently watched and admired Deidera's naked form as he slid out of bed and started to dress himself. After getting dressed he walked over to Itachi and gave him a quick kiss. Itachi grabbed Deidera's arm and pulled him back before he could leave and deepened the kiss.

'I'll see you at breakfast.' Itachi smirked pulling back.

'Okay.' Deidera smiled and quietly left the room.

Itachi looked at the scroll on the bed and sighed.

_Foolish little brother._

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bright sunlight streamed through the huge windows and filled the spacious room with a yellow glow. A slight figure stirred on the massive bed and slowly lifted his head. Naruto lazily opened his eyes and blinked several times to shake off the sleepiness. He looked around the room trying to figure out where he was. Slowly the previous day's events came back to him and he quickly sat up.

'Ow.' He muttered rubbing his arm on which his entire weight had been lying on top off the whole night. He looked around the room once again and then on the bed. The sheets on the other side of the bed looked untouched and the room looked the same as it did the night before. Slowly a realization hit Naruto.

He was alone in the room.

Naruto felt confused. He looked out of the window, it was morning already, maybe quite early but it was definitely way past dawn.

Had the prince come to the room last night?

He took off the veil that was still clumsily hanging on his head and kept it on the bedside table. Not convinced, he rubbed his eyes and looked around the room more clearly for any sign that showed that the prince might have been in the room last night. Maybe the prince had come in and found him sleeping so he left?

The room looked no different than it did yesterday and the bed was slightly rumpled where he was seated, but completely smooth on the other end. Naruto frowned. He didn't know what to make of the situation. Had the prince forgotten?

Of course not. Had Naruto missed out on any details of the ceremony? Maybe it was not last night, maybe it was tonight.

No, Iruka clearly mentioned that the prince would be here last night.

Naruto frowned. He sat there for some time trying to figure out what had happened.

Did the prince turn up at all?

Naruto slowly slipped out of bed and looked around the room once more.

It was still very early in the morning, someone would probably come and explain to him what happened. Or perhaps the prince himself would turn up with an explanation. Something must have happened. He looked at himself in the mirror. He couldn't face the prince like this, he needed to freshen up and look presentable for his husband. He quickly grabbed some fresh new robes and headed to the private bath.

He lowered himself into the hot bath and started washing himself. He used the new fragrant soap that a fellow bride had given him as a farewell gift. It smelled like lavender and looked like honey. The boy bride had given it to him telling him to use it before the wedding night. He didn't know what it did, but it was just soap and it smelled very nice, and he wanted to smell nice for the prince.

He blushed. Would the prince come close enough to be able to smell the fragrance? Embarrassed at the boldness of that thought, Naruto dipped his head into the water. What was he thinking?

After washing himself properly he dried his hair and put on his new robes. The robes were pale blue and though still quite thick, they were a lot lighter than the bridal robes he wore last night. He slipped on his wedding ring and felt his heart grow warm at the sight of the ring on his finger. The prince had been very gentle with him yesterday. The way he had put the ring on his finger, his touches had been very light. He smiled shyly to himself remembering how gently the prince had held his hand in the parlor. Good thing he had the veil covering his face, otherwise the prince would've been able to see how embarrassingly red his face had become.

A small knock on the door brought Naruto out of his daze. Naruto quickly grabbed his veil and sat on the bed. He held his breath and waited. Was it the prince?

There was another knock and Deidera's voice spoke quietly through the door. 'Sasuke?'

Naruto frowned. Deidera-kun?

'Sasuke, I know you're awake by now.' Deidera spoke again.

Naruto opened his mouth to reply but shut it again. He didn't know what to say.

He heard Deidera sigh irritably through the door. 'Fine, but don't be late for breakfast. We want to spend time with Naruto-kun too you know.' He giggled and Naruto heard him leave.

Naruto stared at the door, his mind suddenly swimming with questions. He felt completely confused. Deidera-kun thought the prince was here? But…

Naruto frown grew deeper. A small suspicion popped in his head and he hoped he was wrong.

There was another knock at the door and Naruto hastily stood up to open it. _Please be the prince_, Naruto mentally begged.

'Sasuke-sama.' An elderly lady's voice spoke. Naruto stopped in his tracks and stood still.

'Miko, leave that and come with me.' He heard someone hurriedly whisper to the lady at the door.

'But the prince's morning tea…'

'Leave it for today. The prince is with his bride, silly.'

'Wait, I'll just quietly leave it in the room.' Naruto's eyes widened. No, please leave, he mentally pleaded.

'Wait, no.' the other maid quickly said. 'His majesty has ordered not to disturb his highness and his bride until they step out of the room. Now, let's go before you wake the prince.'

He heard the maid being dragged away as she whispered protests at the other maid. Naruto slowly sat back on the bed. Everyone seemed to think the prince was with him. What was going on? Where was the prince?

He hoped nothing had happened to the prince. He wondered if he should let the king know about this, but how would he find him in this huge palace without anyone noticing him. People would definitely suspect something was wrong and it could bring more trouble for the prince. He also didn't want to do anything unnecessary, incase the prince did turn up.

Naruto took off his veil again and leaned against the pillows. He decided to wait for the prince until sundown. If he didn't turn up until then, he would go to the king to inform him of the prince's absence before something terrible happened.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The kunai fell with a loud clang as the shinobi was thrown back with the force of chidori. The body fell limp as it hit a tree and landed on the ground.

'Hn.' Sasuke looked at the other unconscious attackers, unimpressed. The troublemakers were informed to be a group of missing nins, but they turned out to be a lot weaker than Sasuke had expected. A complete waste of his time.

'Take them hostage.' He ordered his shinobis and headed back to the base. He headed straight to his office and ordered for some tea. He had been in a terrible mood since last night, not being able to think of anything with all the guilt clouding his head. The moment he had reached the base at dawn, he had regretted his decision to leave without meeting Naruto, and it was already too late by then. It was morning already and he wondered how Naruto was handling things back in the palace. Even worse, he wondered what Naruto thought of him now.

It was only when morning came that he realized the seriousness of his actions. His bride would probably misunderstand his intentions.

'I'm an idiot.' He muttered and sat on his chair. He couldn't face Naruto now. He probably hurt him.

'Taichou.' A shinobi stood at the open door of the office. 'We have checked the premises, they were last of the lot.'

'Hn.' Sasuke nodded. 'They're from the sound, question them.'

'Yes, taichou.' The shonobi nodded 'Also, there seems to be another group in the western borders.'

Sasuke frowned. 'Which squad is at the borders?'

'Squad 2, taichou.'

'Send squad 1 and 3 to the borders as well and inform Asuma to keep his shinobi squad ready for back up. The group here were just a decoy.'

'Yes, taichou.' The shinobi bowed and hastily left then room.

Sasuke turned around in his chair and looked out the window. Perhaps he could leave tomorrow once he's settled everything. He should've at least informed Deidera before leaving, he could've been there with Naruto until he returned. It was today that Naruto would have needed him the most and he had just left him alone without any explanation.

His bride would probably hate him for this. Sasuke frowned. No, he didn't want that. He wouldn't allow that to happen. He needed to fix this.

'Your highness.' A shinobi stood at the door looking completely out of breath. 'An urgent message from the king, Sir.'

'Hn.' Sasuke held out his hand and took the scroll from the messenger. He was expecting a message from Itachi. He would probably ask him to return immediately. He opened it and read the extremely short message. Sasuke's eyes widened by a fraction and he suddenly stood up.

'Inform lee of my absence, tell him I've left for the palace and to take over.' Sasuke said over his shoulder as he rushed to his horse. He hastily mounted it and rode as fast as he could, without bothering to look back. The scroll still tightly gripped in his hand.

This was all his fault. He should've never left the palace.

_Naruto._

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

'This is not fair, un.' Deidera pouted as he walked out of the dining room with Itachi. 'I really wanted to have breakfast with Naruto-kun. I had so much prepared for him. I even had those disgusting tomato onigiris made for Sasuke.'

Itachi just nodded, choosing not to say anything incase his blonde grew even more annoyed.

'That's pretty stingy of Sasuke.' Deidera continued to fume. 'And to think he was acting all awkward last night. Iruka-san was looking forward to having breakfast together with him too. He looked pretty disappointed.'

Itachi led them to his room and shut the door behind them.

'He's still on leave, he could've gone back to his room after breakfast.'

'Deidera.' Itachi tried to get Deidera's attention, now that they were alone.

'He better bring Naruto for lunch, I have a complete menu set for him. You can't just ignore a tradition. The bride has to dine with the family after the wedding night, right? His first meal has to be with the family.'

'Deidera, listen…' Itachi tried to place a hand on the angry blonde's shoulder but it was carelessly swatted away.

'He didn't even talk to me when I went to his room this morning, un. He just ignored me. That rude brat, he thinks he can just forget about the rest of us now that he's married, wait till I-'

Itachi placed his hand over Deidera's mouth effectively shutting him up.

'Listen.' He said calmly and Deidera nodded, a small 'Okay' muffled through Itachi's hand.

'Sit down.' Itachi removed his hand and sat Deidera down on his bed.

'What's wrong, Itachi?' Deidera asked, looking slightly worried at how extremely calm Itachi looked. There were very few things that could get a proper reaction out of Itachi, typical Uchiha, but when he acted this calm he always had something important to say.

'I need you to be calm about this.' Itachi said in a serious voice, and Deidera nodded slowly. He was right.

'Is everything okay?' he asked, shifting closer to Itachi.

'Nothing that can't be mended.' Itachi placed a hand on Deidera's thigh and squeezed it in assurance. Deidera nodded knowing that he could trust Itachi when he said that. There was nothing this man couldn't solve.

'It's Sasuke.' He sighed. 'He's not in his room.'

'What?' Deidera frowned. 'What do you mean?'

Itachi paused for a second, looking like he was trying to choose the right words. 'He's in the eastern border right now.'

Deidera looked confused. 'What is he doing there?'

'There's been a small disturbance there, so he left with his shinobis last night.'

'Last night?' Deidera almost screamed. 'And you let him go?!'

'No.' Itachi said, still maintaining his calm composure. 'I didn't know he had left until this morning. He only left a message for me.'

Deidera's eyes widened slowly as he realized something and looked towards the door. 'Then, Naruo-kun…'

'Deidera.' Itachi held Deidera's shoulders and gently turned him to face him. 'I need you to do something.'

Deidera nodded, worry flashing in his face.

'I need you to make sure no one in the palace finds out Naruto-kun is alone in the room until Sasuke returns, and Naruto-kun must not know that we know Sasuke is not in the room. I've ordered the maids to leave the wing and to give them privacy, so his quarters should be fairly empty right now.'

'Okay, I can do that, but when is Sasuke returning?'

'By this evening.'

'How did you know?' Deidera asked.

'I sent an eagle with an urgent message. He should be on his way back by now.'

'He should've let someone else handle it. He takes his duty a little too seriously.' Deidera sighed.

'No.' Itachi shook his head. 'That's not the case. This was not about duty.'

'What do you mean?' Deidera frowned.

'I don't know what happened, but it's not like Sasuke to not know where his priorities lie. He wanted to leave the palace, seeing that the message was given to me in the morning.'

'You're right. He would've informed one of us otherwise.' Deidera agreed.

'In the meantime don't talk to Naruto-kun about it. Infact, don't see him at all. I don't think he'll want us to know that Sasuke left him alone last night.'

'I'll just find a way to keep checking in on him without him knowing.' Deidera assured him.

'Thank you.' Itachi nodded 'I want Sasuke to fix this himself. He needs to learn how to be a responsible husband to his bride.'

'Don't worry, un.' Deidera shifted closer, placing his slender hands on Itachi's hard chest and rubbing it in a soothing manner. 'Our Sasuke is a fast learner, he'll be able to handle it smoothly.'

'Hn, you're right.' Itachi gave him a small smile, his hands automatically reaching out to hold Deidera's slim waist. Deidera smiled back, sliding his hands up his chest and around his neck, bringing him down for a kiss. Pleased with the action, Itachi eagerly obliged and seized his blonde's lips in a lingering kiss. They parted after a moment knowing they couldn't go any further right now.

'I'll take some breakfast for Naruto-kun.' Deidera said, releasing Itachi from his hold. 'Poor boy must be hungry.'

'Okay.' Itachi let Deidera slip out of his embrace and quietly walk to the door. Deidera paused and turned around to look at Itachi with a curious expression.

'Itachi.'

'Hm?'

'What did you write in the urgent message?'

Deidera saw the corner of Itachi's lips curve into a small smirk and immediately regretted asking.

'That Naruto-kun was packing his belongings.'

'Itachi!' Deidera gasped, and Itachi just shrugged. Knowing there was nothing he could do now, Deidera rolled his eyes and left the room shaking his head.

Uchihas. They needed help, this clan.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

'Mm.' Naruto mumbled into the soft warm pillow, patting around him for the blanket. He frowned when he couldn't find it and cracked an eye open to look around him. The room glowed with the orange rays of light washing in from the windows. It seemed to be quite late in the afternoon. Naruto's eyes sprang open. He pushed himself up and anxiously looked around the room.

He was still alone in the room. He sighed and sat up, looking around for a clock to know what time it was. He peered out of the window and frowned in slight worry. The sun would start setting in about an hour now and it didn't seem like the prince had turned up. He couldn't wait anymore now, he needed to tell the king. For all he knew the prince could be in danger.

He walked up to the door and pressed an ear against it. It was completely silent outside and he wondered if there was anyone around. He decided to quietly take a look and slowly pulled the door about an inch open. He peeked through the small opening and couldn't find anyone in the corridor. He slowly pushed his head out and listened for any sound coming from the direction of the entrance. He couldn't detect any so he decided it was safe to come out of the room. A soft growl erupted from his stomach filling the silence in the corridor and he blushed. He hadn't eaten anything since morning and he was starting to feel a little weak.

He quietly stepped out and silently walked in the direction of what he guessed was the entrance. He turned a corner and found himself standing in front of another massive wooden door.

He frowned in confusion and wondered if he took the wrong direction. He decided to take a look anyway, incase he stumbled upon a shortcut. He slowly pushed the heavy door open and softly gasped when he looked inside. It was a fairly large room filled with towering shelves of books and scrolls. Naruto loved reading books and couldn't tear his eyes away from such a sight.

There was a large table among the shelves, with scrolls and books scattered on top of it. He stepped into the room and walked over to it, looking at the open scrolls and the small notes neatly written all over them. He wondered if the prince wrote them and tried to read it, but couldn't really understand most of the terminologies, so he walked over to the shelves to look at the books.

Something among the books a few shelves above him caught his eye. It looked like a photo frame. He stood on his toes but was still far too short to see it. Deciding against his better judgment he lifted his robe and slowly started to climb the shelves until he was the right height to reach it.

He extended his hand and tried to reach it, but it was still too far. His head suddenly spun with a slight spell of dizziness and he gripped the shelf tighter. He accidentally pulled a few books while trying to grip the shelf and muttered a soft 'ow' as a couple of books fell and hit his head. He quickly turned around to look at the door and hoped no one had heard him.

He took a deep breath and stretched as much as he could again when suddenly he lost his grip and found himself falling back.

With his heart in his throat, he held his breath and tightly shut his eyes and waited for his body to hit the ground.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke rode towards the huge iron gates that the guards were slowly opening and dashed through the small gap without bothering to wait for gates to open entirely. He raced to the main entrance of the palace and dismounted his horse while it was still slowing down to halt. He patted his horse and muttered a quick 'Good job' and hurried into the palace.

He rushed through the corridors, his face expressionless and still, but his heart racing in his chest, threatening to break out of his ribcage. He hastily made his way to his quarters and almost broke into a run when he reached his room. He dashed in and anxiously looked around the room. The room was empty. His eyes landed on the bed and felt his heart sink at the sight of a white garment lying on top of the rumpled sheets. It was Naruto's veil.

He almost gave up when he noticed the door to his private bath was half open. A small hope flickered in his heart as he walked towards it and caught a sweet fragrance wafting through the door. He extended his hand and softly knocked. He waited and knocked again. When there was no answer he pushed the door open and walked into changing room. He felt his hopes plummet to the ground when he found Naruto's wedding robes dumped into the basket in the corner.

_Shit_. He mentally cursed. _Shit shit shit._

Naruto had really left, and it was entirely his fault. What was he thinking, leaving his bride on their wedding night without any explanation. He hadn't even considered how hurt Naruto would've felt by his actions. He deserved this.

He walked out of his room and stood outside his door. He combed his fingers through his dark locks and tried to calm down.

No. He could fix this, he nodded. Yes, he could still fix this. He couldn't let his bride go just like that. He at least deserved an explanation. Determined to make things right, he headed to his study. He first needed to write a letter to the Hokage explaining the situation and asking him not to allow Naruto to leave Konoha until he arrived. What and how he would talk to Naruto could be decided on his way there.

He turned the corner at the end of the corridor and was surprised to find the door to his office half open. Just then he heard some noise coming from inside his study, like some books falling down. He frowned and cautiously entered the room, his fingers firmly wrapped around his sword. His eyes widened in surprise as he found himself looking at the back of a slight blonde figure climbing one of the shelves at the end of the room.

He didn't get time to process what was happening when the figure lost its grip and tumbled backwards for a painful fall. Before he knew it, his body moved on it's own and he found himself with an armful of the said blonde safely cradled against his chest.

Surprised at his own actions he looked down at the trembling blonde who had his eyes tightly shut. Everything was forgotten and time stood still for Sasuke when the blonde slowly opened his eyes and he found himself looking into a pair the most stunningly blue eyes he had ever seen. Captivated, He stood there, his mind completely blank, as they looked back at him with worry and fear.

Sasuke wasn't sure how he knew, and he wasn't sure if he was right, but before he knew it the name escaped his lips before he could stop himself.

'Naruto.' His deep voice whispered and watched as the blue eyes widened in sudden realization, but the moment didn't last long as they slowly closed shut and the body went limp in his arms.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

So Sasuke and Naruto finally meet! now begins the real story (finally). Please look forward to the next chapter and leave reviews so i know how my story is doing. And of course, thank you for such wonderful reviews, I'm surprised I'm receiving any at all lol.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Naruto Belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto felt all the energy in his body drain out as he slowly regained consciousness. He sluggishly opened his eyes and tried to adjust his vision to the surroundings.

'Naruto-kun?' He felt the dip of the mattress beside him and a soft warm hand on his forehead. He blinked a few times and found a young man with long blonde hair sitting next to him, his face full of worry and concern. Deidera-kun?

'Are you okay?' Deidera asked softly and brushed Naruto's hair out of his face.

'Y-yes.' Naruto weakly replied and slowly sat up with Deidera's help. He looked around and recognized the familiar surroundings of the prince's bedroom. He looked at the bed he was placed on in confusion as he slowly recalled the events before he had lost consciousness. Had he been dreaming? Wasn't he with…

'Does it hurt anywhere?' Deidera asked him and he slowly shook his head.

'It doesn't.' Naruto smiled feebly at Deidera. Must've been a dream. 'I'm sorry for making you worry.'

'Nonsense.' Deidera softly scolded. 'If anything, I should apologize. I shouldn't have listened to Itachi, un. I should've just blown-up the door and forced my way in.'

Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

'Ah.' Deidera eyes lit up in realization, and explained proudly. 'That's my expertise, Naruto-kun, ammunition.'

Naruto nodded reluctantly, not really sure how he was supposed to reply to that.

'Anyway, that aside,' Deidera giggled and sat closer, he gently pushed Naruto's chin up to face him better with his finger and smiled softly, 'I finally get to see you, and what a sight you are.'

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise and blushed at the compliment. He had completely forgotten about his veil. Finally noticing the absence of his veil, he looked back at Deidera. The person before him was stunning, now that he had a chance to get a better look, and felt his heart grow warm at the gentle look Deidera was giving him.

'Come.' Deidera said letting go of Naruto and pulling a trolley of food from beside the bed. 'You must be starving, you poor baby. You haven't had anything the whole day, have you?'

Naruto's stomach instantly growled at the sight of food and blushed in embarrassment when Deidera giggled as he started filling the plate.

'I came in to check in on you a few times, but you didn't respond when I knocked. I was getting slightly worried, you know.' Deidera explained as he handed him the plate.

'I'm sorry, Deidera-kun.' Naruto guiltily apologized as chewed on some tempura. 'I must've fallen asleep.'

'I thought so.' Deidera nodded, watching Naruto eat. 'I was ready to bomb myself in the next time.' He giggled.

Naruto could hardly taste the food as he gobbled the entire contents of his plate. After he was done, which didn't take very long, Deidera handed him a cup of warm green juice. He carefully took a small sip and immediately scrunched his nose at the bitter taste of the juice.

Deidera chuckled at Naruto's expression and explained. 'It's tea, Naruto-kun. Very different from the one in your land, right?'

Naruto nodded looking slightly embarrassed. Deidera took the cup from him and leaned closer to whisper.

'I wanted to bring some cake for you, for dessert, but I don't want Iruka to hate me.' Deidera giggled.

Naruto smiled and nodded.

'Let me have a look.' He said, gently rubbing the back of Naruto's head with his hand. 'Sasuke said some books might've hit you on your head.'

Naruto's eyes widened at Deidera's words. So he wasn't dreaming. The prince was there. The prince had caught him when he fell from the shelves.

'There's no bump or anything,' Deidera pulled back and smiled at him. ' Good thing Sasuke was there on time.'

Naruto just nodded feeling heat rise in his cheeks. He felt so embarrassed. It was his first time seeing the prince and he had fainted. He didn't even get to take a proper look.

There were two sharp knocks on the door and a beautiful tall dark haired man stepped in. Naruto looked at the beautiful man in awe as he gracefully took off his outer robes and hung it on his arm. His flawless porcelain face held a clam and proud expression that gave Naruto the feeling that the person before him was on a completely different level altogether. What had he done to possess such beauty?

'Itachi.' Deidera stood and placed the cup down. Naruto panicked and quickly got out of the bed to bow to the king, but lost his balance and stumbled forward.

'Naruto-kun.' Deidera gasped and caught him before he landed on his face. 'Be careful, you shouldn't move so suddenly.'

'Are you okay, Naruto-kun?' The king held his arm gently and sat him back on the bed. Naruto looked up at the king in surprise and then at the open door where the king was standing a second ago. When did the king…?

'We finally get to see you.' Itachi said, a small smile tugging his lips.

Naruto blushed and looked down at his feet. He had heard rumors about the Uchiha clan's beauty but the rumors did no justice the actual thing.

'Are you alright?' Itachi asked again, noticing the Naruto's flushed state.

'He's fine.' Deidera giggled and nudged Naruto, 'Naruto-kun's just love struck because you're such a hunk.'

Itachi chuckled and Naruto blushed harder.

'Well, if that's the case, the feeling's mutual, Naruto-kun.' And if possible, Naruto blushed even harder.

Deidera took the robe from Itachi and poured him some tea.

'Is he still with Asuma?' Deidera asked handing him the cup.

'He's almost done.' Itachi nodded and gracefully took a sip.

'We should have dinner here.' Deidera said, pouring some hot water into the kettle.

'Not today. We've had a long day.' Itachi sat on the armchair next to the bed. 'We can have breakfast together in the morning.'

'I'll invite Kakashi this time.' Deidera nodded.

Naruto watched this in silence, feeling strangely comfortable in their presence. The king, the strongest man in the land and his closest friend, one of the finest Uchiha shinobis, were sitting in front of him discussing when to have their meal. A small giggle threatened to erupt from his lips, but Naruto suppressed it.

POOF !

'Yo.'

'Eeek !' Naruto jumped and flew to Deidera who was sitting next to him, burying his face in his chest.

'Kakashi !' Deidera scolded the man, who had suddenly popped up right behind the unsuspecting Naruto, and wrapped gently his arms around the frightened boy.

'My bad, my bad.' The man chuckled and scratched the back of his head. 'I didn't mean to scare you, Naruto-kun.'

'Then use the freaking door!' Deidera patted Naruto's head. 'Itachi, stop laughing.'

Itachi chuckles immediately died down, and he went back to calmly sipping his tea. Give an angry Deidera whatever he wants. Rule number two.

Naruto felt like he could just die of embarrassment. He slowly removed himself from Deidera and turned to face the stranger sitting on the bed.

'Hello, Naruto-kun.' The stranger lifted his hand in greeting, and Naruto assumed he was smiling with only a pair of mismatched eyes visible and his lower portion of the face hidden behind a mask. 'I apologize for my late introduction.'

'Pleased to meet you, sir.' Naruto half bowed from where he was sitting.

'Just call him Kakashi, Naruto-kun.' Deidera glared at Kakashi.

'This is Hatake Kakashi, Naruto-kun.' Itachi chuckled. 'He's one of our best shinobis, and he was also Sasuke's sensei.'

'I'll be in you care, sensei.' Naruto hurriedly bowed again. This person was the prince's sensei?

'Ah, I wish Sasuke still called me sensei.' Kakashi sighed. 'You should teach him to, Naruto-kun.'

'Yes, sensei.' Naruto hesitantly nodded.

'I have a wedding present for you.' Kakashi's eyes squinted into upturned u's, and Deidera face palmed as he took out a small orange book from inside his vest pocket.

Itachi just poured himself another cup of tea. Why bother.

'Use this as a guide.' Kakashi explained. 'Sasuke obviously has no clue about how to go about it, you should read this and help him out a little.'

Naruto looked confused but nodded anyway. No sooner had he extended his hand to receive the present when the book suddenly crackled with a bright light and burst into flames in Kakashi's hand.

Naruto gasped and pulled back quickly as Kakashi watched the last of the flame extinguish on his palm with a disappointed look.

'Don't even try.' A deep voice growled from the door and everyone turned to face the owner of that voice.

An attractive young man, almost identical to the king stood at the door with a slight glare directed at kakashi. Naruto felt a familiar tingle in his chest as he looked at the young man.

He looked very much like the king, only he seemed much younger. He had similar strong built and height, with shorter dark hair but his beauty was no less in perfection. The young man stepped in and took off his robe in a very similar manner to the king and hung it on his arm with the same grace.

As he walked into the room, the dark eyes left Kakashi and slowly landed on Naruto. Naruto felt his heart stop as the obsidian eyes bore into his with such intensity that he felt the need to tear his eyes away. Naruto blushed deeply and look down.

There was no doubt in his mind as to who this person was.

'Sasuke.' Deidera hurried over to the man.

Naruto stiffened.

'Look at you,' Deidera sighed softly, and pulled him over to where everyone was seated. 'You look exhausted. I'll have Miko-san prepare the bath for you and have the cook prepare something quick-'

Itachi cleared his throat, quickly interrupting Deidera, and placed his cup down.

'Sasuke needs to rest now. We should take our leave.' Itachi said calmly, glancing at Naruto's flushed and stiff form.

'Already?' Kakashi asked, dusting the ashes from his trousers. 'I just got here.'

'We'll see you at breakfast.' Deidera said, obediently standing up and handing Itachi his robes.

'I'll pass.' Kakashi waved his hand in a bored manner. 'I'll see you again soon, Naruto-kun.'

'Yes, sensei.' Naruto softly said and bowed. Kakashi sweat dropped noticing how stiff Naruto suddenly was.

'Have a good rest.' He said, standing up to leave. 'And don't worry about the gift, Naruto-kun, I'll get you another copy. I have one more with me in my room, I will give it to you the next time we-'

They heard a sharp sizzle coming from Sasuke's direction and Kakashi turned to find him leaning against the bed post, a small spark vanishing from his fingers tips. He looked at Sasuke in confusion and a slow realization hit him and his mismatched eyes widened in horror.

'Sasuke, did you just…?' Deidera asked suspiciously. Itachi chuckled as he put on his robe and picked Deidera's from the chair.

'Aw, common!' Kakashi groaned and vanished with a poof.

'You're technique is growing stronger.' Itachi smirked as he helped Deidera put on his robe.

'How on earth did you manage to burn something that's almost on the other side of this wing?' Deidera chuckled. 'Anyway, I just hope Kakashi doesn't mope around the entire week this time. we'll be leaving now, we'll see you at breakfast tomorrow.'

He walked over to Naruto and pecked him on his forehead. 'Rest well, Naruto-kun. I'll have some cake made for you tomorrow, so bear with the bitter after taste of the tea for tonight.' He giggled.

'Goodnight, Deidera-kun.' Naruto nodded and smiled at Deidera.

'Sleep well, Naruto-kun.' Itachi patted his head, making Naruto blush yet again. 'Take care of the rest.' He said to Sasuke, patting him on his shoulder and walking out of the room with Deidera excitedly telling him about the menu for the next day.

The door shut behind them leaving the two alone in the room. Suddenly a heavy silence surrounded them and Naruto kept his eyes on the floor, feeling very conscious of himself.

He felt more aware of the prince's presence now that they were alone in the room.

He clutched the hem of his sleeves and stiffened when he sensed the prince walk towards the bed and sit on the armchair in front of him.

'Do you feel better?' The prince asked and Naruto looked up to find the prince looking directly at him.

'I-I feel fine, thank you.' Naruto said, his blush coming back with full force. Perhaps he was even more stunning than the king.

'There was an emergency at the borders.' The prince slowly explained. 'So I left with my men.'

Naruto just nodded, feeling slightly guilty that the prince was having to explain himself to him.

'I should have left a message.' The prince said. 'I apologize.'

Naruto quickly shook his head. 'It was your highness's duty.'

There a small silence, where Sasuke looked at Naruto with an expressionless face and Naruto wondered if he had said something wrong.

The prince looked like he was about to say something but he coughed and looked at the trolley next to them. Noticing this, Naruto instinctively reached out for the tea kettle and poured some tea into a fresh cup.

'You highness has his duties, please don't apologize.' Naruto said as he took the cup and offered it to Sasuke. 'I was fine here in the palace.'

Sasuke looked slightly surprised by the action and slowly took the cup from his bride's small hands, muttering a small. 'Thank you.'

Naruto smiled to himself, feeling strangely pleased watching the prince sipping the cup of tea he had poured for him.

'Sasuke.' The prince said, before taking another sip from the cup. Naruto tilted his head in confusion. 'You can call me Sasuke.'

Naruto's cheeks flushed and he shyly nodded.

Was it possible to die from too much blushing?

There was silence again, where the two looked anywhere but at each other, not knowing what to say next.

Naruto kept glancing at the prince from the corner of his eyes, as Sasuke gracefully sipped his tea.

Taking a last sip, Sasuke placed the cup on the table and coughed to get Naruto's attention.

'Please take a rest.' He said picking up his robes. 'I need to go back to work.'

'Please don't mind me.' Naruto shook his head, feeling slightly disappointed that the prince was leaving already.

Sasuke stood up to put on his robes, and Naruto stood up as well.

'Please wait for me in the morning.' Sasuke said, having to look down at Naruto who stood at least a head shorter than him. 'I will come back in the morning and we can join the others for breakfast.'

Naruto nodded.

'Please take a good rest, Naruto-kun.' Sasuke said and walked up to the door.

Naruto bit his lips to stop himself from smiling when he heard the prince say his name. He hesitated a little before softly saying, 'Goodnight, S-Sasuke.'

The prince paused a little before opening the door and nodded.

'Goodnight, Naruto.'

Naruto could've been imagining, but he swore he saw a small hint of a smirk on the prince's lips before he shut the door behind him.

A full-blown goofy grin spread across his face and he covered his face with his hands. He flopped backwards into the mattress and sighed.

He couldn't stop grinning. He rolled onto his stomach and buried his face into the pillow.

_My heart is going to explode_

He thought and grinned even harder. He stayed like that for a while waiting for his heart to calm down until after a few minutes he heard a soft knock on the door.

He sat up straight and called for the person to come in.

'Good evening, your highness.' An elderly looking maid entered the room with a small tray in her hand. She walked up to where Naruto was sitting and placed the tray on the table nearby.

'The prince has asked me to bring this for you, your highness.' The maid said smiling at Naruto.

'The prince?' Naruto asked, his face lighting up instantly. He walked over to the table and sat on an armchair.

'I hope you will enjoy.' The maid lifted the cloche to reveal a generous piece of a gorgeous chocolate cake. Naruto's heart grew warm at the sight of the cake and felt a smile spread across his face.

_He was listening?_

'Thank you.' Naruto grinned and picked the fork to take a big bite of the cake.

He had never tasted anything more delicious.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After informing Miko-san what to do, Sasuke headed straight for his study. He closed the door behind him and walked up to his desk. He took off his outer robes and sat on his chair.

He picked up a pen and looked at the scrolls laid out on his table. The disturbance at the borders was a lot more serious than Sasuke had thought. Asuma was at the borders with his shinobis for now, but he needed to prepare the new chunnin graduates for back up. This could be a good opportunity to train the new graduates.

He couldn't leave the palace right now. He would have to send Sai and his group with these scrolls. They could handle it if things got out of hand. As much as possible he didn't want to trouble Itachi until they absolutely needed him. He seemed satisfied with Sasuke's plan for now, and Sasuke didn't think he would need help with this.

He wrote a small message on four different scrolls and rolled them up to be delivered to the borders.

Unrolling a large parchment that was labeled 'Chunnin' he read a small note he had made next to one of the diagrams about channeling of blue chakra.

Blue chakra.

A pair of striking blue eyes flashed in his mind.

He quickly ignored that thought and made a small note below the diagram. The enemies seemed to be skilled, but he doubted they would need to send Shikamaru for now.

Besides he was on leave right now. Temari was badly injured during her mission and as per rule, her husband was allowed to take leave to be with her. Sasuke frowned, trying to remember who Temari was again. Wasn't it the girl with the blonde hair?

Not the light blonde that Naruto has, but it was more yellow.

Naruto's hair was more of a soft colour in comparison.

Sasuke looked at the scroll for a second and put his pen down. He pushed the scroll to the corner and stared at his desk. He turned his head and looked at the shelf next to his table that had a few books missing.

He felt his palms tingle as he remembered the slight form that had fallen into his arms. Light and fragile.

Leaning back into his chair, he brushed his hair back and sighed in defeat.

_Uchiha Sasuke, you're done for._

Poof.

Another chakra filled the room, but Sasuke didn't move from his spot.

'Nice move.' Kakashi melted out of the shadows among the shelves. 'That cake.'

'Stop spying on my bride.' Sasuke sat up.

Kakashi chuckled. 'I wasn't. I was only a little worried about the two of you. Somehow I feel responsible for you turning out this way.'

'What do you mean?' Sasuke frowned.

'You've become a great shinobi Sasuke, but I doubt chidori is going to help you woo Naruto-kun.'

Sasuke's frown grew deeper. He pulled the scroll back on the table and picked up his pen. 'I don't have time for this.'

Kakashi smirked and leaned against the shelf. 'The cake was a good move, you need something more abovious.'

Sasuke pretended to ignore Kakashi and started writing on the scroll.

'Like jewellery.' Kakashi continued. 'Buy him a nice piece of jewellery, he'll get the message. And if he wears it for you, you'll get the message.'

Sasuke continued to ignore him as he pulled out a map and started marking certain areas on it.

'You can't use that tunnel.' Kakashi said, appearing next to Sasuke and pointing to the map on the scroll. 'It's already been discovered.'

Sasuke scratched the little note he made and started writing a new one. 'Your were supposed to be on a break today.'

'I was.' Kakashi shrugged. 'I was just taking a walk.'

'At the borders?' Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

'Tsunade-sama can't come look for me outside the city.'

'You should just let her treat you.' Sasuke shook his head.

'I'm fine.' Kakashi half sat on the table. 'Nothing broken. Nothing missing.'

Sasuke didn't bother trying to convince him. He knew Kakashi hated visiting the healers and avoided them as much as possible. It was a wonder how this man was still in one piece.

Sasuke stopped in his writing and glanced at Kakashi. A tiny thought had been bothering Sasuke since Kakashi's return and wondered if he should just go ahead and ask him.

'Go ahead.' Kakashi chuckled 'What is it?'

'Nothing.' Sasuke looked back down at the scroll.

Sasuke brought his pen down to continue writing but stopped again. He really wanted to know.

'Did you go around the palace today?' He asked, casually.

'The new fountains look nice.' Kakashi said, looking at the new notes Sasuke had made.

Sasuke nodded. 'Some guests stayed the night.'

'Ah yes, I ran into the Hyuuga branch leader in the morning. He told me about Neji's marriage.'

'I'll be attending that next month.'

'You should take Naruto-kun with you, the bride is from Konoha.'

'We had some guests from Konoha too.' Sasuke tried again. Kakashi was trying to stray him from the topic.

'I don't know the guests from konoha.' Kakashi said, taking the pen from Sasuke and making a mark on the map.

'No one?' Sasuke asked, looking at the mark on the map.

'Sasuke.' Kakashi sighed. 'What is it?'

Sasuke sighed as well and sat back. 'Have you met Iruka-sensei?'

Kakashi tensed beside Sasuke but he continued to make more marks on the map. After he was done he put the pen down and stood up.

'I will.' Kakashi patted Sasuke on his shoulder. 'Very soon.'

With that he vanished with a poof, leaving a cloud of smoke behind.

Sasuke watched the clouds disappear slowly. He was running away. He never really understood what had happened between Kakashi and Iruka, but he knew things got ugly between them few years ago. He was too young to understand what was happening then, and he never had the chance to ask Kakashi about it.

He didn't really mind not knowing, he just wanted them to their old problems, whatever they were.

There was a knock on the door and a shinobi walked in with a map in his hand.

'Taichou.' The shinobi bowed. 'We've scanned the area, and found where the enemies have stationed themselves.'

'Hn.' Sasuke took the map from the shinobi and unrolled it. A small smirk spread across his face.

'Call a meeting tomorrow, after breakfast. Inform Sai and his group.' Sasuke said placing the map on the table.

'Yes, Taichou.' The shinobi bowed and left.

Sasuke leaned back and glanced at the two maps on his table. The map that the shinobi had brought had areas circled on it, indicating the position of the enemies. They were the very same areas Kakashi had marked on the map below it, just seconds ago.

Sasuke shook his head and smirked again.

He was a hundred years too young to catch up to his sensei.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Please don't be disappointed. Sasuke sucks at the whole love thing, so please be patient with the boy, lol. Next chapter up very soon.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Surprise ! Another update :) Im just really happy i have a few readers who actually read my stories AND review them. Thank you for the reviews, you make me want to write more !

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Iruka wrapped himself in an outer robe and tied his hair up. It was slightly past dawn and he hadn't been able to go back to sleep. Yesterday had been quite a day, with Sasuke missing and Naruto alone in his quarters. When Deidera had come to his room yesterday, explaining the situation to him, he had been worried sick. But he had requested Iruka to pretend he didn't know anything, so all he could do was stay in his room and stress himself out until Deidera had informed him last night that Sasuke was back and everything was fine.

All he could think of was seeing Naruto at breakfast today and hadn't been able to get any proper sleep, so he decided to go to the royal baths. His room in the palace had a private bath attached, but he had heard about how magnificent the Uchiha royal bath was and thought he would try it out today.

He had a maid prepare his garments for him in the changing room and headed to the bath. The Palace was a lot quieter and peaceful at this time of the day with hardly anyone walking through the massive corridors, except for a few guards and shinobis that were stationed at certain places.

The bath was not difficult to find since Iruka knew it was close to the royal training grounds, and Iruka had been there before when he had first visited the land of wind. He entered the large changing area and spotted his new set of robes neatly folded on one of the shelves. He walked over to it and removed the robes he had on and put them in the basket nearby. He then walked into bath and looked around the impressive room.

The bath was quite large, almost as big as the royal dining room, with huge pillars supporting the high ceiling. The entire room was covered with white marble and though very bright, you couldn't see past a certain distance because of the dense steam.

He washed himself first and then walked over to the far corner of the bath to take a dip. He lowered himself into the bath and let out a long sigh as the warm water relaxed his muscles. He felt all his worries fade with the steam and slipped further down to soak his entire body.

He could get used to this.

He stayed like that for a while until he heard bare feet walking into the bath. The bath was accessible to all the nobles and shinobis in the palace, so Iruka didn't bother seeing who it was. He just slipped further down and closed his eyes.

'So you're not seeing him again?' A female voice spoke as two people dipped into the bath. Iruka's eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up. A woman's voice?

'No, he was completely different from what I had imagined.' Another woman's voice replied. Iruka tensed and slowly turned his back to them. He wondered if he had entered the women's bath. He probably had and the women would probably think he was a pervert if they noticed him there.

He faced the other way and dipped deeper into the water until his shoulders were hidden. He just hoped they would quickly leave.

'Just give it up.' The other woman giggled. 'Dating is not meant for us kunoichis.'

'Easy for you to say.' Her friend grumbled. 'You're already married.'

'Well I'm not as picky as you are. You're still waiting for a prince charming.'

'Or a king.'

'Ooh the king.' The woman purred and they both burst into giggles.

'If I had a man like our king, I'd put him on an altar and worship him all day.'

'Oh, I'd do more than worship.'

'You're married.'

'What? A girl can dream.' They burst into giggles again.

Iruka rolled his eyes. This was going to take some time.

'This is exactly why I don't find other men appealing.' The other woman sighed. 'Working in the palace, I'm surrounded by these perfect too-good-to-be-true men who've completely ruined normal men for me.'

'But we're lucky to get to see our nobles and elite shinobis. I know friends who would kill to get a glimpse of our prince.'

'Sadly he's taken now.' The woman giggled.

'Bet he has no idea how many girls have turned suicidal because of that.' Her friends giggled along.

'It was worse than when Asuma-senpai got married.'

'Asuma-senpai was really popular back then.'

'He still is, but nobody wants to get in Kurenai-san's bad books.'

'I honestly prefer Kakashi-senpai.'

Iruka tensed.

'You've seen his face?' other woman gasped.

'Of course not. I'd die of happiness if I did, but I don't need to see to know that he's gorgeous.'

'I might not know what's under his mask, but I do know what's under his robes.'

Iruka frowned. He did not want to hear this.

'You don't mean…?' The other woman sounded shocked.

'No no no, sadly, no.' Her friend quickly corrected her. 'I wish, but no. I saw him training in the royal training area once, and he was shirtless.'

'We're not allowed in there, what were you doing?'

'I had just started working here and I was curious. But, damn, I'd risk anything to sneak in again if it meant I could see him shirtless again.'

'That good, huh?'

'It should be illegal to be that perfect. Whoever gets to have him will probably never let him leave the bedroom.' The woman sighed dreamily.

'Oh, but I heard he was engaged once.'

Iruka tensed again. He wanted to get up and leave. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself.

'Really?' The woman sounded interested.

'Yes, I heard about it from a maid who's worked here for a long time now. He was going to get married to a boy bride, but somehow they broke it off.'

'A boy bride? But he's the only son.'

'I was surprised as well, but there have been cases where the first borns or the only sons have been married to boy brides due to circumstances.'

'I wonder why he had to marry one.'

'I don't know, but the topic seems very delicate and not a lot of people know what happened. Those who do won't say much.'

'The council treat him like a national treasure and the other lands have been trying to bribe him to join their force. You'd think they'd choose a woman for him instead and create Hatake babies.'

'It's quite a puzzler.'

'I'm curious now.'

'I know, I want to know what the boy bride looked like.'

'Obviously not very impressive since Kakashi-senpai broke it off.' They both giggled.

'Anyway, I start my shift in half an hour now.'

'Yes, me too. We have time just enough to quickly get dressed and get a quick bite.'

The two continued to talk about their shifts as they stepped out of the water and left the bath.

Iruka let out a deep breath that he wasn't aware he was holding. He slowly slipped out of the water and looked at his hands. They were all wrinkled from staying in the bath too long. He headed to the changing room and started wiping himself dry.

After all these years, he hadn't expected people to still be talking about it. He had hoped that if not forgotten, they would have at least gotten tired of the topic. But he guessed he shouldn't have been so surprised. This was about Hatake Kakashi, the famous copy ninja of the Uchiha clan. Anything related to that man was hot news, not only in the land of wind but in other lands too.

He slipped into his fresh robes and threw the used towel in the basket.

It was over, it had been for the past ten years, but it was never going to leave him. Hatake Kakashi was never going to leave him. Whether in form of memories or gossips, he would always follow him.

He walked out of the royal bath and headed to his room. He needed to get a few things done before he joined everyone for breakfast.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto woke up to the sound of knocking on his door. It was quite early and the birds chirped noisily outside his window. He tried to ignore the knocking and buried his face in the pillow when suddenly he remembered he was supposed to be waiting for the prince.

He sat up and jumped out of bed. Wasn't it a little too early to be having breakfast? He ran to the mirror and looked at himself. He tried to fix his hair best as he could and rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes.

He then sat back on the bed and cleared his throat. 'Please come in.'

The door slowly opened and the maid who had brought him the cake last night entered with a large tray in her hands.

'Good morning you highness.' The maid smiled brightly at him.

'Oh…Good morning.' Naruto wasn't sure if he was disappointed that it wasn't the prince, or relieved that the prince hadn't seen him with a bed head.

'Is something the matter, ma'am?' The maid asked noticing Naruto's slight disappointment. She placed the tray on the table.

'Oh, no. No, I'm fine, thank you.' Naruto shook his head and blushed. Did the maid just call him … ma'am?

'Your tea, ma'am.' She said removing the tea cozy from the kettle. Yup, she did.

Naruto looked at the tray, a little surprised. He thought she had brought him the green liquid from yesterday, but the tray had normal tea.

'Would you like milk in it?' She asked and Naruto nodded. She made the tea to his liking and placed it before him.

'I hope it tastes as good as it does back in your highness's land.'

Naruto took the teacup in his hands, took a small sip and smiled at her. 'The tea is lovely, thank you, um...'

'Miko ma'am, and I'm glad it suits your taste.' She smiled back and half bowed in appreciation.

'Miko-san, I'm a boy.' Naruto giggled, correcting her. Maybe she had bad eyesight.

'Oh, forgive me, ma'am, but that's how we're supposed to be addressing the prince's consort.' Miko giggled as well. 'All Uchiha brides are addressed that way.'

Naruto took a sip of his tea and gave it a thought, and then scrunched his nose. 'You can call me Naruto.' He said, nodding to himself. '" Ma'am" makes me sound like a girl.'

'As you wish, Naruto-sama.' Miko giggled. 'Please excuse me, I have to bring Sasuke-sama his tea.'

'Let me.' Naruto sat up straight, and blushed realizing how eager he sounded. 'I mean…um, please let me do it.'

Miko seemed a little taken aback with Naruto's sudden enthusiasm and chuckled 'If you insist, your highness.'

'Please give me a minute.' Naruto said and placing cup down, he ran to the bath quickly grabbing some fresh new robes. After a very rushed bath, he threw on his robes, fixed his hair in the changing room mirror and walked into the room to find Miko waiting very patiently for him.

'I'm ready.' Naruto smiled slightly out of breath.

'This way Naruto-sama.' Miko giggled, picking up the tray and showing Naruto out of the room. Naruto led the way as Miko followed him with the tray in her hands, giving him directions around the quarters. They took the corridor opposite to the one that led to the study. She guided him through the grand corridors and Naruto looked around in awe as he realized for the first time how huge the prince's quarters actually was.

They reached a small room with uncarpeted wooden floor and Miko asked Naruto to take off his shoes. Naruto did so and she led him inside offering him a small cushion to sit on in front of a low table.

'His highness is training in the dojo, Naruto-sama.' Miko said placing the tray on the table and placing Naruto's half drunk tea in front of him. 'He should be done shortly. Would you like me to wait with you?'

'That's okay, Miko-san.' Naruto smiled at her 'I'll wait by myself.'

'As you wish, Naruto-sama. Please let the guards know if there is anything you need. They will come and inform me.' Miko bowed and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Naruto sat more comfortably and took a sip from his cup. The tea was still a little warm. He looked around the small room and noticed that it was completely empty, except for the table in front of him and the neatly placed cushions around it.

He pulled the tray to him and placed a fresh cup on the table. The cup was different from the one he was using and noticed that there was another teapot in the tray. He lifted the cover and looked inside. It was the green tea he had tried yesterday and he guessed it was for the prince.

After arranging the items on the table he started sipping his tea again. He started looking around again when suddenly he heard a muffled thump behind him. He turned around and noticed the wall behind him was actually a sliding door.

He stood up and walked up to the door and listened carefully. There was another soft thump, like the sound of something dropping on the floor. He felt slightly curious and wondered if it was okay to have a look. Maybe someone needed help?

He quietly slided the door open, just enough to allow him to look inside. As he carefully peeped in, his breath caught in his throat. He slowly took a step back but continued to look through the small opening.

Naruto stared at the broad shirtless back of the prince, as he stood in position with a sword in his hand at the end of a large hall. The well defined muscles flexed as the prince raised his sword and effortlessly sliced a rather large makiwara roll into two clean halves. A drop of sweat trickled from the back of the broad neck right down his shoulder blades and the prince reached behind his neck to wipe off the sweat, his arm muscles tightening as he did so.

The prince put the sword back in its sheath in a fluid motion and turned around to stand in front of another similar roll. Naruto leaned forward to get a better look at the well defined abs and watched how his muscles flexed again as the prince took his stance, and watched as the dark eyes look back at him.

Wait, what?

Naruto tore his eyes away from the prince's torso and widened as they looked up to find the prince looking directly at him with a calm expression.

He blushed furiously right up to his roots and slammed the door shut in panic.

He cupped his mouth with his hands and rushed back to the table. He touched his burning cheeks and fanned himself with his hand.

He gently slammed his forehead on the table and groaned. He probably looked like a pervert in front of the prince. He probably thought he was peeping.

Well, he was, but its not like he knew the prince was in there…shirtless…and flexing his muscles.

Naruto, you big idiot. He let out a heavy sigh. How was he supposed to face the prince now?

The sliding door behind him opened and Naruto sat up straight. The prince slowly made his way to the table and sat across Naruto. Not being bale to face the prince, Naruto kept his eyes on the table.

'Good morning.' The prince said calmly and Naruto looked up.

'Good morning.' Naruto said softly, a little disappointed to see that the prince was wearing an outer robe. He dropped his eyes back on the table and blushed at his disappointment. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your highness's training. I didn't mean to peep- no, look. I mean, I did look, but not to peep…no…I…'

He was digging himself a grave.

'…I didn't know who was in there, I didn't know you'd be unclothed…well, no, you had trousers on…I'm sorry, that's not the point…'

Okay, he was digging deeper.

'…Miko-san said she was going to bring you tea, so I insisted I'd bring it for your highness- Oh, tea!'

Naruto quickly got on his knees to pour the prince some tea. He hastily reached out for the pot but missed the handle and knocked it over, spilling the tea all over the table and splattering some on the prince's robes.

'Oh.' Naruto gasped in horror. 'I'm sorry….I… I'm so sorry-'

Naruto reached out for a napkin but knocked over Sasuke's cup in panic, which rolled out of the table and smashed to pieces on the floor.

Naruto flinched at the loud crash and stood up to pick the pieces off the floor. He pushed himself up and hit his knee on the table in haste. The table shook violently and the spattered tea on it trickled over the edge and spilled all over Sasuke's lap.

'Oh no.' Naruto gasped again and cupped his mouth with his hands. What was he doing?!

He looked up at the prince, who watched this in silence.

'I'm sorry.' He said feebly, his voice shaking a bit. 'I… I didn't …I…'

He wanted to cry.

The prince slowly got up, brushed his trousers with his hands and sat on the cushion next to Naruto. He gently took the napkin from Naruto's trembling hands, laid in out on the table and placed the tray on top of it. He then pulled a dry cushion from behind him and placed it in front of Naruto.

'I think I'll have some milk tea, please.' He said, calmly looking down at Naruto. Naruto looked back in surprise.

He slowly nodded his head and sat on the cushion the prince had placed in front of him. He looked at the tray for another cup but Miko-san seemed to have placed only two cups for Naruto and Sasuke.

Noticing this, Sasuke pulled Naruto's used cup from the other corner of the table that still had a little bit of tea in it.

'This is good.' Sasuke said and placed it in from of him. Naruto's eyes widened and he blushed.

'But…but that cup-' Naruto started but the prince quickly interrupted him.

'This cup is fine, Naruto.'

He nodded again and prepared the tea in the cup he had been drinking from a while ago.

Naruto watched shyly as the prince picked the teacup, brought it to his lips and took a good sip. He put the cup down, turned to Naruto and nodded. 'Thank you, the tea is perfect.'

The blush that had been fading from his cheeks rushed back with full force.

They sat in silence as Sasuke sipped his tea next to Naruto, who kept glancing at the prince at every chance he got. After he was done Sasuke placed the cup down and turned to Naruto.

'Please leave them as it is.' Sasuke said gesturing to the mess. 'Miko-san will have someone clean it.'

Naruto nodded, feeling extremely embarrassed.

'I need to freshen up and dress more appropriately before I join everyone for breakfast.' Sasuke said standing up and offering Naruto his hand. Naruto took the large with his small one and Sasuke gently helped him up. He led Naruto to the door and opened it for him.

They walked through the corridors in silence and stopped in front of the prince's room.

'I will not take long, so please wait for me, Naruto.' Sasuke said and walked away in the direction of the study. Naruto watched the prince leave and turn the corner. He walked into the room and shut the door behind him. He leaned against the door and felt a small smiled spread across his face.

The prince was very kind.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke took of his robes in the changing room and walked into the bath. He ignored the other presence in the bathroom and walked straight to the warm water. Of course he would be here. He was probably waiting him.

'Yo.'

Sasuke ignored Kakashi's greeting who was already relaxing in the bath. He sat down and felt the warm water relax his muscles.

'You gave him quite a good show, Sasuke, you show off you.' Kakashi chuckled.

Sasuke felt a vein on his forehead pop.

'Oh common, you knew he was there the moment he entered the room with Miko-san.' Sasuke could hear the smirk in Kakashi's voice. 'Besides I thought I told you to focus on your chakra flow this morning. You were supposed to be meditating, not swishing your sword away.'

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something in protest, but shut it again.

'I'm proud of you though.' Kakashi chuckled again. 'You're a true Uchiha man.'

'How so?' Sasuke muttered. It was hard to ignore Kakashi.

'Its very important to an Uchiha man's pride to be adored by their spouse.' Kakashi explained. 'Its like their pride feeds off of it.'

Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

'Its true.' Kakashi shrugged. 'You'll realize it gradually. You're an Uchiha after all, you can't help but behave like one.'

'You're one too.' Sasuke said and Kakashi nodded.

'And that's why I'm telling you. Just give in and start wooing you bride. He might get tired of waiting, you know.'

'We're already married, Kakashi, I don't need to woo him.'

'Then I guess you spent the night in your study because your chair is more comfortable than your bed?'

Sasuke tensed.

'He married me because he had to, I'm not going to force him into any kind of relationship with me.' Sasuke said with serious expression. He wanted avoid the sort of relationship Madara was talking about that night. That wasn't a relationship, it was captivity.

Kakashi looked at him with a thoughtful expression.

'Sasuke.' Kakashi sighed 'You might want to look around you a little more clearly before you jump to conclusions.'

Sasuke frowned.

'Naruto-kun waited the entire night and the entire day for you when you left him on your wedding night.'

Sasuke felt a pang of guilt as he remembered how Naruto had waited for him that day, and he hadn't even demanded an explanation when he returned.

'And if he was forced into this, I don't think we would have found him almost drooling at the sight of your naked torso.' Kakashi joked.

Sasuke glared at Kakashi.

'Don't pretend you didn't like it. You were flexing you muscles for him too.' Kakashi laughed. Sasuke felt the heat rise up his neck. Stupid Kakashi. He got up and walked to the changing room, ignoring Kakashi as he continued to laugh at him.

He quickly wiped himself and put on some fresh robes. He dumped his tea soaked robes into the basket and walked out of the royal bath.

He needed to hurry back to Naruto. Everyone must be waiting for them in the dining room.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Time for Sasuke to man up ! lol XD Thank you for reading, please review, your reviews make my day !


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